


Roommate Wanted

by BusySquirrel, supernatural9917



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dean thinks he's straight, Dean/Cas Big Bang Challenge 2018, Gay Castiel (Supernatural), M/M, Roommates, Switching, You will not be surprised to hear that Dean isn't as straight as he thinks he is, they were roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-07 12:45:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16408769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BusySquirrel/pseuds/BusySquirrel, https://archiveofourown.org/users/supernatural9917/pseuds/supernatural9917
Summary: Dean Winchester moved to Pontiac, Illinois six months ago when his girlfriend Carmen got a new job. Unfortunately for Dean, Carmen then left him for her boss, so he needs to find a roommate ASAP. Castiel Novak needs to move out of his brother’s house before his niece is born, and when he finds Dean’s ad on Craigslist, it seems like the perfect solution for both of them. So what if Dean is ridiculously gorgeous? Castiel can keep his crush under control. So what if Castiel is gay? Totally straight Dean isn’t at all affected by seeing him hook up with dudes. They’re just a couple of completely platonic roommates.Well… that’s what they think, anyway…





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Destiel Christmas! This is my first DCBB and it's been a bit of a ride. I realised a couple of weeks before check-in that the story I was writing was never going to be ready in time, so I put it on the back-burner and adapted this one, which had been sitting in my hard drive waiting for inspiration. Very big thanks to my beta, [athaclena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/athaclena/), who helped me flesh it out into something over 20k, especially with my biggest weakness- endings! Her suggestions made this a much better story.
> 
> Also big thank you to my awesome artist, [BusySquirrel](https://busysquirrel-art.tumblr.com/). The art is freakin' ADORABLE, and she very kindly indulged my request for naughty pictures XD Go give her [art post](https://bs-acorns.tumblr.com/post/179437505988/art-masterpost-for-roommate-wanted) some love! 
> 
> And finally, thanks to Jojo and Muse for running another great bang!
> 
> You can also find me on [Tumblr](https://supernatural9917fic.tumblr.com/).

_Roommate wanted: 2 bed 1 bath apt on west side of Pontiac. $400/month including bills for furnished room, access to half the space in the rest of the apartment, and a reserved spot in the parking lot. I'm a dude in my late 20s, I like cars and pie. No slobs or pets._

 

'Wow, Dean, that's a really appealing ad. I can't imagine why nobody has responded yet,' Charlie said with a sarcastic eyeroll. 'You sound so friendly and welcoming. You do realise that you _need_ a roommate if you want to keep this place?'

'I know, I know,' Dean sighed. 'I just thought I'd moved past the part of my life where I'd need a random roommate.' Charlie rubbed his shoulder in sympathy. 'I definitely didn't think I'd be stuck in a town where I barely know anybody because my stupid ex-girlfriend dumped me for her boss.'

'Hey, Carmen's loss, man. _I'm_ glad you moved here.'

'Thanks Charles,' Dean replied, wrapping her in a hug. 'Too bad _you_ don't want to move in.'

'Yeah, sorry. Too bad I don't have a second room so _you_ could move in with _me_. That would kinda rule.'

'Nah, we'd end up fighting over the same girl and it would get ugly.'

'Oh Winchester, like you'd stand a chance against me.' Dean wasn't able to get his argument in because just then his inbox pinged. 'Ooh, look, somebody replied!'

_Hello, I saw your advertisement for a roommate on Craigslist and would like to have a look at the apartment. I'm also a 'dude' in my late 20s, no pets and not a slob. Can I please make an appointment ASAP? My phone number is 555-0918. Sincerely, Castiel Novak_

'What the hell kind of name is Castiel?' Dean laughed.

'Who knows? Text him, maybe he can come by tonight and your problem will be solved!'

'Doesn't that come off as a bit desperate?' The inbox pinged again.

_Hello again, apologies for bothering you again so soon, but I just wanted to stress that when I said ASAP I really meant it. I'm currently living with my brother and his wife, and they need the room for their new baby. My SIL is due in a week and is planning a home birth, so I'd really rather get out of here before the place is covered in placenta. Thanks. -Castiel_

Dean and Charlie looked at each other and dissolved into a fit of laughter. 'OK, I'm definitely calling this guy right now,' Dean said when he'd gotten his breath back. 'He sounds hilarious.' The phone rang twice before a deep voice answered.

'Hello?'

'Hi, is this Cas?'

'This is Castiel, yes.'

'Oh, sorry man, I wasn't sure how to say your name, didn't want to mess it up. Um, I'm Dean, you just emailed me about the apartment?'

'Ah, yes, hello Dean. Cas is fine. Thank you for responding so quickly.'

'Well, I wouldn't want you to get covered in placenta waiting for my call.' That made Cas laugh, which set Dean off again as well. 'Hey, so if you've got time tonight, I'm home right now and could show you around, or I'll be home from work tomorrow after six.'

'Right now would be great actually. Where are you?'

'Periwinkle Estates.'

'Oh yes, I know where that is. I'm actually just a few blocks away right now, I could be there in ten minutes if that's OK?'

'Yeah, cool. It's number 24, just ring the bell when you get here.'

'Wonderful, see you soon.' They hung up and Dean looked at Charlie, who had her fingers crossed.

'Hopefully he'll be great, Dean! Do you want me to head out before he gets here?'

'Nah, I wouldn't mind getting your opinion on him. You've got an amazing creep detector.'

'No problem. I'll put some coffee on.' Charlie made herself busy in the kitchen while Dean tidied away the remains of their Chinese takeout dinner. Both of them were just finishing their tasks when the doorbell rang. Dean opened the door to a tall man with messy dark hair, wearing a leather jacket over a blue t-shirt and jeans.

'Hi, I'm Cas. Are you Dean?'

'Yeah, that's me, come on in.' Dean let Cas in and shook his hand. 'This is my friend Charlie, she was just hangin' out with me tonight.'

Charlie waved from the kitchen. 'Want some coffee?'

'I'd love some, cream and one sugar please. I take it this is the living room and that's the kitchen?'

'Yep. My DVD and games collection is pretty big, but that entire bookcase is empty for your stuff if you were to move in. In the kitchen, I've got lots of cooking stuff and plates and shit, but there'd be empty cupboards and space in the fridge and freezer for your food.' He led Cas through the living room to a hallway with doors coming off. 'This is the bathroom, the tub is a decent size and the water pressure is pretty good. This is the linen closet, there'd be a shelf free for your sheets or whatever if you want. And this the bedroom.' Dean opened the door and Cas stepped in, looking at the queen-sized bed, nightstands, chest of drawers and built-in closet approvingly.

'This is really nice. Did the apartment come furnished or is this yours?'

'Uh, it's mine. Or it is now, anyway. I originally moved here with my ex, and a lot of it was her stuff, but when she bailed, she just left all the furniture for me to deal with.'

'Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry.'

'Nah, it's all good. That's why I need a roommate. I don't know many people in town, I only moved here from Kansas about six months ago with her.'

'And you decided to stay?'

'Yeah, I've got a pretty good job and a couple of good pals, so I thought I'd stick it out for a while and see what happens. So what's your story? Besides not wanting to be covered in placenta.'

'I'm actually from Pontiac, but I had been living in Chicago. I decided to move back when my company downsized, and got a job here, but I was living with my brother and sister-in-law to save money. Now with baby Claire on the way they need the room back, but so far I hadn't seen anything I liked.'

'And what do you think of this place?'

Cas gave Dean an appraising look. 'I like it.'

'Great! When can you move in?'

'Tomorrow too soon?'

'Not at all. Come on, let's do the paperwork and I'll give you the key so you can just let yourself in tomorrow.' They walked back out and Charlie handed them their coffees. Dean explained the rules of the apartment complex, the bills, and any other details he could think of. Cas seemed happy with everything and signed the contract and a check for the deposit and first month's rent. Dean handed him the keys and the three of them chatted for a bit longer until Cas excused himself, pleading an early start the next day.

'Thank you very much, Dean, I'm so relieved to have found your ad.'

'Me too, Cas. See you tomorrow.'

Charlie waited until they couldn't hear Cas's steps anymore before turning to Dean with a raised eyebrow. 'You didn't even wait for my verdict before offering him the room.'

Dean shrugged. 'I had a good feeling about him. Why, did you think he was a creep?'

'Not at all, he seemed like a nice guy actually. Dreamy too.'

Dean snorted. 'He's not exactly either of our types.'

'Hey, I may be gay, but I'm not blind. Those baby blues aren't any less pretty for being attached to a body with a wang.'

Dean didn't disagree.

**********

_Roommate wanted: 2 bed 1 bath apt on west side of Pontiac. $400/month including bills for furnished room, access to half the space in the rest of the apartment, and a reserved spot in the parking lot. I'm a dude in my late 20s, I like cars and pie. No slobs or pets._

Cas liked the ad. It was short, to the point and described all the important features of an apartment. It was on the right side of town, had a parking space, and the price was right. Maybe, after months of searching, he had finally found the right place, and not a moment too soon. He quickly typed up a reply asking to see it ASAP and hoped he wasn't too late.

It actually hadn't been so bad living with Jimmy and Amelia. They were fun to be around, and the fact they were happy to let him live with them for only the cost of his share of the bills had allowed him to save up his severance pay from being laid off in Chicago and adjust to his new, much smaller salary without too much of a jolt. If he were being honest with himself, he'd gotten a bit _too_ comfortable in their guest bedroom, even as they began decorating around him for the arrival of their first child. Then suddenly it was the third trimester and the gentle hints became a bit more pointed that maybe he should start looking for a new place.

So in month seven he had begun apartment-hunting in earnest. After several months of living with people again, he decided to ease his way into it by finding a place with a roommate. He'd been scouring Craigslist ever since but had yet to find something suitable. Half the time the place was already gone by the time he got in touch; a couple of times the listing had turned out to be a coded ad for sexual services or drug sales; one hadn't even been an apartment at all but a makeshift 'bedroom' in the back of some guy's van. Andy had been friendly, and the airbrushed painting on the side of a barbarian queen riding a polar bear had been kind of cool, but it was definitely not what he was looking for.

Of the listings that had been real and available, not one had induced Cas to leave the security of his brother's house. He eventually learned that an overly long ad probably meant the lister was obsessed with minutiae to the point of having set times when certain rooms of the house were allowed to be used (the ones Amelia called 'the Sheldons', whatever that was supposed to mean); the overly short ones were usually trying to hide the shithole nature of the place. Even when an apartment was acceptable, the potential roommate was definitely not.

There was the guy who had opened the hallway closet to show him how big it was, thus revealing his collection of signs for protesting the local Planned Parenthood and LGBT youth centre- big fat nope. Only slightly better had been the girl who had opened the door in a leather catsuit and holding a whip, having confused his appointment for that of her BDSM slave; out of politeness he had looked around the apartment anyway, but when he saw the sex swing that was permanently affixed to the living room ceiling, he had even more politely excused himself.

And now here he was, still without a new place a week before Amelia's due date, and with an empty birthing pool sitting at the foot of his bed in what was soon to be Claire's room reminding him of the urgency of moving out. In his despair, he decided to make it clear to the poster of the promising ad that when he said ASAP, he really meant it, and described the seriousness of the situation in no uncertain terms.

His phone rang just a minute later, and he took a moment to offer up a brief prayer to any deity who would listen that this would be the one.

'Hello?'

'Hi, is this Cas?' came a pleasantly deep voice with a hint of a twang from somewhere further south than Illinois. Not fully southern, but maybe somewhere in the plains.

'This is Castiel, yes.'

'Oh, sorry man, I wasn't sure how to say your name, didn't want to mess it up. Um, I'm Dean, you just emailed me about the apartment?'

'Ah, yes, hello Dean. Cas is fine. Thank you for responding so quickly.'

'Well, I wouldn't want you to get covered in placenta waiting for my call.' Cas had to laugh, and he was glad that he'd included that detail in his message if it caught Dean's eye so quickly. 'Hey, so if you've got time tonight, I'm home right now and could show you around, or I'll be home from work tomorrow after six.'

Cas breathed a sigh of relief. 'Right now would be great actually. Where are you?'

'Periwinkle Estates.'

He thought for a moment and realised that was the complex he passed everyday on his way to work. It really was a good location for him, and not too far from Jimmy's house either. 'Oh yes, I know where that is. I'm actually just a few blocks away right now, I could be there in ten minutes if that's OK?'

'Yeah, cool. It's number 24, just ring the bell when you get here.'

'Wonderful, see you soon.' He hung up and took a deep breath, trying not to let himself get too excited. The apartment seemed great, it was in a nice complex with a good reputation, and Dean sounded nice. There just had to be a catch.

When Dean opened the door a little while later, the catch stared him in the face. Dean was the most beautiful man Cas had ever seen in person, with bright green eyes and a warm smile. Cas was doomed, and if he hadn't been desperate, he would have turned around and walked right back to his car. Instead, he accepted the invitation to enter and shook Dean's hand. He was introduced to a redhead named Charlie, who offered him coffee from her seat in the kitchen, and he tried to bring his thoughts back to the task at hand by asking stupidly obvious questions like whether the living room was the living room and whether the kitchen was the kitchen. Fortunately, Dean didn’t seem to notice his awkwardness and just showed him around the apartment.

Cas learned that Dean had moved here from Kansas, which explained the accent, and that he had moved to Pontiac with a girlfriend (because of course he was straight) who had since left him (because apparently she was an idiot). He was neat and tidy, he seemed friendly and laid back, and the apartment was absolutely perfect. And hey, what was wrong with appreciating the eye candy around the place? When Dean asked him what he thought of the apartment, Cas was able to tell him honestly that he liked it very much.

'Great! When can you move in?'

Figuring that he might appear a bit too eager if he just went back to Jimmy's to pick up his bag and came back that night, Cas replied, 'Tomorrow too soon?'

'Not at all. Come on, let's do the paperwork and I'll give you the key so you can just let yourself in tomorrow.' They walked back out and Charlie handed them their coffees. Dean explained the rules of the apartment complex, the bills, and any other details he could think of. Cas was grateful for the paperwork keeping him from staring at Dean for too long, and happily signed the contract and a check for the deposit and first month's rent. Dean handed him the keys and the three of them chatted for a bit longer. Realising he had a lot to do ahead of moving the next day, Cas excused himself after about half an hour and drove back to Jimmy's house feeling good about the future.

'Hey, how did it go?' Amelia called out as he walked through the door.

'I'm moving in tomorrow,' Cas replied with a grin when she waddled to the front hall.

'Wow, that was fast!'

Cas shrugged. 'Well, the place is perfect and ready to go, I need to be out of your hair, and Dean needs a roommate ASAP, so we didn't see the point in waiting any longer than necessary.'

'OK, if you're sure. What's your new roommate like?' Cas could feel himself blushing as he thought of how to answer, and Amelia picked up on it right away. 'Oh no. Cas, don't tell me you picked this place because the guy is cute.'

'No, I did not!' Cas protested, but Amelia just crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. 'That's just an added bonus.'

Amelia laughed and gave Cas as much of a hug as she could with her huge belly in the way. 'Come on then, let's get you packed. Jimmy! Come help Cas!'

They were able to get packed fairly quickly, as Cas had never bothered unpacking most of his boxes from Chicago. The next morning, he bid his brother and sister-in-law farewell and drove to Dean's- and now _his_ \- apartment.

**********

Cas moved in the next day, and Dean's positive feelings about him were rewarded; they got along really well, had similar levels of tidiness, and even liked the same kind of food. They often hung out together in the evenings, playing video games or watching movies, and within a few months Dean had really come to see Cas as a good friend. It therefore seemed like a good time to bring up a somewhat touchy subject- hook-ups.

When Cas had first moved in, the breakup with Carmen had been a little too fresh for Dean to think about getting back out there; instead, he'd thrown himself into his work and spent all of his social time with Cas and Charlie. After nearly four months of being single, however, Dean was starting to get a bit antsy, and decided it was time to hit the bar scene again.

'So, Cas, we never really talked about this when you moved in, but, uh, I'm kind of looking to start dating again, and I might occasionally like to bring a date home with me. Would that be OK with you?'

'Of course, Dean. Would the same apply for me as well?'

'Yeah, totally dude. Let's just agree to keep it all in the bedroom and try not to be too loud, cool?'

'Cool. Good luck out there.'

'You too man.' Dean wasn't remotely surprised that Cas was cool about it. Cas was cool about everything. He was just cool. Such a dude. A total bro. He had gotten so lucky with his roommate.

From then on, most weekends took on a similar pattern: Dean would go out on Friday and/or Saturday night, go to a bar, pick up a girl, and about half the time bring her back to his place. Sometimes he and said girl would cross paths with Cas as Dean was walking her to the door, but he never made any kind of fuss about it. Dean was aware that Cas was bringing dates home as well sometimes- not as often as Dean, but still frequently enough that Dean would have expected to see some trace of the girl or girls (he wasn't sure if it was a steady thing or random hook-ups like himself). He assumed that Cas just kicked them out early for some reason. He did like to do yoga first thing, so maybe it was just to avoid getting in the way of his workout schedule. Whatever; that was Cas's business, and Dean wasn't going to pry.

**********

Living with Dean turned out to be surprisingly easy. Sure, Cas's crush got stronger day by day, but that was because Dean was just so _nice_. They kept similar schedules and had similar levels of tidiness; they got along well and had interesting conversations. Charlie came over a lot, and she was really great too. Plus, he was close to his workplace and to Jimmy, Amelia, and Claire, who had been born only three days after he'd moved out. All in all, the first few months of his new living arrangements had exceeded all of his hopes. Well- maybe not _all_ of them, but the particular hope he had of Dean wrapping those sexy bowlegs around him while he fucked him on the dining room table- among other imaginings- was never going to happen.

Cas and Dean had been roommates for about four months when Dean brought up the subject of hook-ups. Cas had gotten out of the habit of dating and hook-ups while living with Jimmy and Amelia and hadn't really bothered to start again since moving in with Dean. However, he figured if Dean was going to be dating and bringing people home, why shouldn't he do so as well? They amicably agreed to keep things quiet and in their respective bedrooms, and that Saturday night, Cas went to Pontiac's only gay bar, The Lazy Shag. Luckily it was a pretty nice place, with some pool tables and a good-sized dance floor, and Cas got lucky within a couple of hours. He took the guy home, and although it didn't seem that Dean had come back in the night, had him out the door pretty early. Although Charlie was a lesbian, Cas wasn't really sure what Dean's opinion on gay men was, and decided he'd rather not find out unless it was absolutely necessary.

Some weekends Dean brought girls home, and although Cas tried to avoid them as much as possible, occasionally they would cross paths. Of course, Dean had nothing to hide, so Cas had to suffer in silence as a parade of beautiful, curvaceous women went through their door. At least there didn't seem to be any repeats, which meant Dean wasn't getting serious about anyone. Why that should matter wasn't exactly clear, but it somehow made Cas feel a bit better.

In early autumn, a couple of months into his return to the dating scene, Cas was standing at the bar of The Lazy Shag, buying drinks for himself and a cute personal trainer he was chatting up, when hands came up over his eyes and a voice said, 'Guess who?' He smiled and turned around.

'Hi Charlie.'

'Sup Cas? Fancy meeting you here!'

'Yes, well, when there's only one gay bar in town,' he said with a shrug.

'Ugh, don't I know it, man. Ah, I see you have two drinks. I won't get in your way. Good luck!'

'And you. Oh, and Charlie… if you could keep this to yourself, I'd appreciate it. Dean doesn't know I'm gay.'

'Oh, hey, don't worry dude, Dean would totally be cool with it.'

'Even so, if you don't mind.'

'Of course, Cas. I'm not gonna out you.'

'Thank you. See you soon?'

'Hellz yeah, game night Wednesday!'

'Excellent. Have a good night.' Charlie hugged him again and stepped up to take his place at the bar as he walked back to the pool table. He knew he could trust Charlie to keep his secret, but he couldn't help the nervous churning of his stomach at the thought of Dean finding out. As much as he believed her that Dean would be cool with it, he was still afraid that it could make things awkward between them, and that was the last thing he wanted.

**********

Thanksgiving came around, and while Cas spent it with his brother's family, Dean flew out to California to spend it with his brother Sam. Dean hated flying, and his method of coping (getting really drunk) meant he couldn't drive back from Chicago on the Friday afternoon when he landed. Instead he crashed in a motel by the airport and woke up early on Saturday to drive back to Pontiac. He was well ahead of schedule; he'd told Cas not to expect him until lunchtime, but by nine a.m. he was already pulling into the garage at their apartment.

And that's why he was in the apartment early enough to see Cas saying goodbye to his Friday night hook-up with the time-honoured method of a hot open-mouthed kiss while pushed up against a wall.

Dean could respect that. Go Cas!

Then Dean realised that Cas was the one against the wall. And his date- yep, definitely a dude.

Oh.

Cas hooks up with dudes.

Suddenly it made sense why his hook-ups never stayed long enough for Dean to see them, and why he didn't talk about them; he must have been worried about what Dean would think for some reason. Life in a small midwestern town could be tough. Dean was determined to be totally cool about this.

Eventually Cas seemed to sense that he and his date were no longer alone; he broke off the kiss and looked towards the door, where Dean still stood holding his duffel bag and looking a bit sheepish. 'Shit! Dean! I didn't expect you back until later!'

'Yeah, sorry about that. I got going earlier than I expected today. Didn't mean to interrupt.'

Cas's date seemed a bit embarrassed at being caught. 'I guess I'd better get going. Thanks Cas, and hey, don't lose my number,' he said with a wink, passing over a slip of paper.

'Of course. Thank you for a lovely evening.' Cas gave the man another quick peck on the lips and closed the door behind him. Dean gave him a little smirk.

'You forgot his name, didn't you?'

Cas shrugged, crumpled the paper and threw it at the trash can. 'I won't need to remember it.'

'Not the hottest date ever then?'

'Not exactly.'

'He seemed pretty into you just a minute ago,' Dean teased.

'He was like that at the bar too, but it was definitely false advertising.'

'Sorry dude. Better luck next time.'

Cas shrugged. 'So, this isn't a problem?'

'What, that you like guys?'

'Yes.'

'Not with me. Is that why I never saw the people you hooked up with? You thought I'd have a problem with it?'

'I wasn't sure.'

Dean patted Cas's shoulder. 'It's fine, man. You don't have to kick 'em out before sunrise. It's all good.'

**********

When Thanksgiving rolled around, Dean flew out to California to visit his brother Sam while Cas spent it with Jimmy, Amelia and Claire. Black Friday was a prime pick-up night at The Lazy Shag thanks to many of its patrons having to deal with homophobic family members for the holiday and thus wanting to let off steam once it was over; Cas decided to take advantage of the fact that Dean didn't expect to be back until Saturday afternoon to bring home his hook-up and not worry about sending him home too early. The guy was cute and very enthusiastic in his kissing, so Cas hoped for a wild night where he could let loose at top volume for once.

Sadly, it turned out that the enthusiasm was to make up for an utter lack of skill, and by nine the next morning he was quite ready to see his date to the door. Whatever-his-name-was pushed Cas against the wall by the door for a sloppy goodbye kiss; he blamed his surprise for his failure to notice immediately when said door opened. A few more seconds passed before he realised that they were no longer alone. He pulled away to see Dean standing at the door looking somewhat sheepish.

'Shit! Dean! I didn't expect you back until later!'

'Yeah, sorry about that. I got going earlier than I expected today. Didn't meant to interrupt.'

What's-his-name was clearly a bit embarrassed at being caught and stepped towards the door that Dean was still holding open. 'I guess I'd better get going. Thanks Cas, and hey, don't lose my number,' he said with a wink, passing over a slip of paper.

'Of course. Thank you for a lovely evening.' Cas gave the man another quick peck on the lips and closed the door behind him. Dean gave him a little smirk.

'You forgot his name, didn't you?'

Cas shrugged, crumpled the paper and threw it at the trash can, hoping he gave off an air nonchalance that didn't reveal his thumping heart and roiling stomach. 'I won't need to remember it.'

'Not the hottest date ever then?'

'Not exactly.'

'He seemed pretty into you just a minute ago,' Dean teased.

'He was like that at the bar too, but it was definitely false advertising,' Cas replied with a hint of bitterness in his tone.

'Sorry dude. Better luck next time.'

Cas shrugged. 'So, this isn't a problem?'

'What, that you like guys?'

'Yes.'

'Not with me. Is that why I never saw the people you hooked up with? You thought I'd have a problem with it?'

'I wasn't sure.'

Dean patted Cas's shoulder. 'It's fine, man. You don't have to kick 'em out before sunrise. It's all good.'

Relief coursed through Cas. As Charlie had predicted, Dean was cool with it, so from then on he took him at his word and didn't worry about shoving his hook-ups out the door at the crack of dawn. A few times he and his date crossed paths with Dean on the way out the door, and as promised, Dean was completely relaxed about the whole thing. No awkwardness between them at all, which made Cas very happy.


	2. Chapter 2

It's not that Dean didn't mean what he'd said to Cas. He was totally fine with Cas liking guys, and hooking up with guys, and having a good time, and not having to kick them out super early. He really had meant it.

The problem was, once he saw Cas with guys, even if it was just passing in the hallway on the morning after the night before, he could then _picture_ Cas with those guys. He didn't purposely _try_ to picture it, mind you; the images just kind of popped into his head from time to time. He saw Cas kiss some guy goodbye, and that image popped into his head later. In the night he heard a faint moan that definitely sounded like Cas, and an image of what might have caused that popped into his head. The vision was made a bit easier by Cas's habit of leaving the shower in only a low-slung towel, tan skin still wet over defined abs and thick, muscular thighs that Dean could easily picture being wrapped around some dude's waist.

And hey, it was perfectly natural to wonder, ya know, who did what in bed. Just natural curiosity, that's all. Dean wasn't really sure what kind of positions two guys could use, so maybe he did a little research about that kind of thing, just to be better informed.

He decided that Cas was probably a power bottom. He was kinda bossy and badass, but Dean had also noticed the occasional mornings when Cas would sit down a bit more gingerly than normal, so he put two and two together.

He didn't bother to think about whether these were appropriate thoughts to have about one's roommate.

What with all of this research, and random thoughts popping into his head, it was only a matter of time before thoughts of Cas started to encroach on Dean's Special Manly Alone Time. It wasn't on purpose, of course. It was a Saturday night just before Christmas, but he hadn't really felt like going out; when Cas left around nine, Dean decided to take his time with a nice long session, maybe even a bit of edging to turn up the intensity. He'd started out with Busty Asian Beauties, like any respectable red-blooded straight dude might do. After a few minutes of getting himself worked up, he would stop, take a few deep breaths, and move on to the next beauty. It was all going very nicely, and then his buzz got totally killed by the sound of the front door opening and quickly closing. He looked at the clock- only ten fifteen. Why was Cas home already?

The sounds he heard explained it all- a body thrown against a wall, a stifled moan, the wet sounds of a sloppy kiss- wow, Cas had scored in record time. The door to the other bedroom opened and slammed shut, he imagined with either Cas or his companion pushed roughly against it. Cas had been wearing low-slung black jeans and a burgundy t-shirt, and Dean could imagine both items being pulled off and thrown casually to the floor to allow the mystery date to run his hands all over Cas's bare skin. They'd probably be kissing at the same time, hot and frantic with lots of tongue; that's how Dean liked it anyway.

He sighed as his hand began moving up and down his dick again almost of its own accord. He could hear breathy little sounds, like Cas was trying to be quiet, and the rhythmic squeaking of the mattress. No way had there been enough prep time- he didn’t want to think about why he knew that- so they were probably just rubbing against each other or something. Dean's hand moved faster now, imagining Cas lying on his back while the mystery man kissed his lips, his neck, his chest, licked and sucked at his nipples, nibbled his way down the flat, toned stomach, dipped his tongue in Cas's navel, and then finally wrapped his lips around the head of Cas's cock. Cas's fingers would thrust into his hair, and when Cas came in his mouth, he would call out his name. _Yes, Dean!_

Dean came hard, his back arching up off the bed as he tried to stifle his moans. He wasn't sure at what point in the imaginary porno he had substituted himself for whomever Cas was actually fucking, but by the end it had definitely been him with Cas's cock in his mouth, and that was a great big pile of not-gonna-think-about-what-that-means-thank-you-very-much. He cleaned himself up, put in some earplugs, and turned out the light.

The next morning, he made sure not to get up until he was absolutely certain that Cas's date was gone.

**********

The weekend before Christmas, Cas went out to The Lazy Shag as usual. He hadn't even made it to the bar when he heard a deep voice ask, 'Hey, can I get you a drink?' He turned to see an extremely handsome man with dark hair and blue eyes flashing him a shy smile. 'I'm Michael.'

'Cas. I'd love a drink, thank you. Captain and coke please.' Michael ordered two and they moved to a free table. After half an hour of chatting and another round of drinks, Cas was more than ready to get this show on the road. 'Do you wanna get out of here?' he whispered in Michael's ear.

'Hell yeah,' Michael replied enthusiastically, and ten minutes later they were in the back of an Uber on its way back to Cas's place. The apartment seemed deserted when they got back, so he assumed that Dean had also gone out, and thus didn't bother to be as quiet as he usually was when bringing someone home. Michael pushed him up against the wall, and the bulge in his jeans when he jutted his hips against Cas was extremely promising for the night ahead. They eventually managed to get to the bedroom, and he kicked the door closed to keep his hands free for pulling off his shirt. Michael did the same, revealing rippling muscles underneath the tight black t-shirt he'd been wearing. His jeans came off next, and oh yes, this was going to be a good time.

After a very athletic and satisfying night, they didn't wake up until fairly late the next morning, but when he saw Michael out there was still no sign of Dean. Assuming that he had ended up elsewhere, Cas made no effort to be quiet as he prepared his breakfast, and so was surprised when Dean came out of his bedroom while Cas was drinking his coffee.

'Good morning, Dean. When did you get home?' he asked, pouring another cup and setting it on Dean's spot at the table.

'Oh, uh, I never went out last night. I was kinda tired, so I crashed early.' He was blushing and not quite meeting Cas's eyes, and Cas realised in horror that he must have overheard something that made him feel embarrassed.

'I'm sorry, I hope I didn't disturb you when I came in. I thought you were out.'

'Nah, it's cool. Have a good night?'

'Yes, it was very nice, thank you.'

'Cool, cool.' He drained his coffee and stood up. 'I'm gonna go shower. See you later.'

'OK. Um, is anything wrong?'

'What? No. Why would anything be wrong?'

'I'm sensing awkwardness. Is this because of last night? Was I too loud?'

'Nah, it's all good. No awkwardness. I'm just kinda tired. Don't worry about it, we're cool. It's cool.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yeah, totally, buddy, don't worry about it,' Dean assured him, patting him on the shoulder. 'Hey, new episode of Dr Sexy tonight, you in?'

'Of course, wouldn't miss it.'

'Cool, cool,' Dean said again. 'OK, later dude.'

Cas watched him walk away and hoped that everything really would be OK.

Christmas and New Year came and went, with Dean heading to South Dakota to spend the holidays at his uncle Bobby's place with Sam, while Cas spent them with at Jimmy's house. Things seemed normal again when Dean came back, much to Cas's relief.

A few days into January, Cas was getting ready to go for dinner with Jimmy and his family when the door opened and Charlie popped her head in. 'Hey, Cas, what's up?'

'Hi Charlie. I'm just about to head out. Dean isn't home yet, but he should be here any minute.'

'Cool, I'll just wait. Hey, so next weekend is my birthday, and I'm gonna try to get Dean to come to The Lazy Shag with me on Saturday night. You in?'

Cas chuckled. 'Good luck with that. I'm usually there on a Saturday night anyway, so I'll meet you guys there.'

'Awesome! We'll see you there.' She waved cheerfully, and he returned the gesture before heading out. The thought of Dean in Pontiac's only gay bar was definitely an amusing one, and he smiled all the way to Jimmy's house.

**********

The whole masturbating over his roommate thing got shut down pretty quickly after that. If any unbidden thoughts of Cas popped into his head, he squashed them right down. While on his visit to Sioux Falls for the holidays, he went out and banged the hell out of a hot chick he picked up at a nightclub, and his apparently very satisfactory performance calmed him down enough that he was able to act normal around Cas when he got back to Pontiac after New Year.

It was all going to be fine; he'd just about managed to convince himself that it was all just a side effect of the edging. Blue balling yourself for that long just wasn’t good for you, and it had just been bad timing that Cas had returned with his hook-up when Dean had been at his most discombobulated point. It didn't mean anything. Cas was totally just his friend, his bro, and definitely not someone with rock hard abs he wanted to lick. Definitely not that. Yep, it had definitely been the edging, one hundred percent. He reminded himself again of why this was the reason for what had happened, and it was this distraction that he blamed for agreeing to whatever Charlie was blathering about.

'Thanks Dean, you're the best!'

Son of a bitch. What had he signed up to?

'I promise, it's not like a glitter rainbow factory or anything. It's a really nice bar, just a small dancefloor and some pool tables. You'll barely even be able to notice that it's a gay bar.'

Oh no. He'd agreed to go to a gay bar, presumably for Charlie's birthday, which was the following weekend. That was _just_ what he needed right now.

'I'm sure it'll be fine, Charlie,' he replied, hoping he sounded calmer than he felt. 'What's the plan then?'

'I thought we'd get some food around seven, then get ourselves dolled up and go out at nine.'

'Right. And did you say Friday or Saturday?'

'Saturday of course. I mean to get lucky, and Saturday is a much better night for chicks there.'

'So I'm on wingman duty, huh?'

'Damn right you are.'

'Are you gonna invite Cas?'

'He'll be there anyway, that's where he usually goes on Saturday nights.' Of course it is. When there's only one gay bar in town, obviously that's where you go to pick people up if you're gay. Oh great, Dean might be witness to the first half of Cas's night as well as the second. Peachy. 'And hey, you might get lucky too.' Dean's eyes widened and a blush suffused his cheeks, but Charlie just laughed at him. 'Straight girls go to gay bars all the time to get away from creepy guys, and they love the whole "I'm a supportive friend who's confident enough in my sexuality to come to a gay bar" vibe. I have no doubt you'll leave with someone too.'

'Great,' he said weakly. A few weeks ago he could definitely have given off that vibe, but it was amazing what fantasies of coming all over his roommate's washboard abs could do to knock his confidence in his sexuality. Not that he'd had a fantasy like that, and he definitely hadn't jerked off to it. Shut up, brain.

And now he was arguing with himself. Son of a bitch.

Charlie's birthday night arrived frighteningly quickly. She let herself in with her key to drop off her change of clothes. They went to her favourite restaurant, and then back to Dean's to change into their partying threads. While Charlie went full sparkle, Dean decided on a classic look- a good pair of jeans, a nice black tee, and a new plaid shirt he'd liked the look of, with blue, purple and a hint of pink in the pattern. He'd left some stubble on his jaw and styled his hair so it almost looked like a short mohawk. Charlie nodded approvingly and took his arm to be led to their Uber.

The bar was actually pretty nice, as promised. Dean paid for the first round, some fancy thing with a tiny umbrella for a Charlie, and a nice, manly, heterosexual bottle of Margiekugels lager for himself. Nothing more heterosexual than beer, that was his motto. Not that he had a motto; not that he _needed_ a motto to defend his heterosexuality. Shut up, brain. They found a high table with bar stools and Charlie began scoping out the dance floor while Dean eyed the pool tables with interest. He was interested in the games, of course, not the really nice ass of the guy who was bent over the nearest table, tight jeans accentuating the shapely muscle underneath.

Oh god, he'd noticed another guy's ass in an appreciative fashion. _Shit shit shi- oh wait, that's Cas,_ he realised when the man stood up, but after a moment's relief, he realised that really didn't make the situation any more acceptable.

'Hey, it's Cas!' Charlie shouted to be heard above the music. She waved to get his attention, and Cas smiled and waved back at them, but stayed at his table. It looked like he was winning, and Dean gave a little salute that was returned with a nod. 'I'm gonna go watch him play, you coming?'

'Nah, don't want to lose the table. You go ahead, I'll talk to him later.'

Charlie drained the last of her cocktail and patted Dean on the shoulder. 'Great. After I talk to Cas I'm gonna go dance. Target has been acquired, I repeat, target has been acquired.'

'Good luck,' he said, tipping the beer at her before taking another long swallow to finish it. 'Want another fancy umbrella thing?'

'Nope, with any luck, she'll be buying my next one!' she winked, and left him alone at the table.

When a bartender walked past to collect the empties, he asked for another beer and three double shots of bourbon to be added to their tab, and tried to make himself as unnoticeable as possible while watching Cas play pool a few yards away. From his smug expression and Charlie's high five, Dean assumed that Cas had just won the game. Cas's opponent shook his head smilingly, took a piece of paper out of his pocket, scribbled something on it and handed it to Cas, who sauntered way too close into the guy's personal space to collect his winnings. Charlie smirked and made her way to the dance floor, but Dean stopped paying attention to her and focussed on Cas.

He'd put down his pool cue, leaned against the pool table and taken out his cell phone, and now he seemed to be typing whatever had been on the slip into the phone. Oh- he'd been playing for the guy's number. The guy then leaned in and whispered something into Cas's ear, apparently something funny that made Cas throw back his head and laugh while he brought a hand to rest lightly on the guy's shoulder. Christ on a bike, Dean was watching Cas pick up, and damn if he wasn't _good_ at it, the smooth fucker. Looking away, Dean threw back the shots and chugged the beer, waving at the bartender for replacements. They were finished almost as quickly as the last set, and now Dean was starting to relax. He was just finishing the third beer when he felt the warmth of a body way too close; he looked up nervously but was relieved to see it was just Cas.

'Cas! You're still here? I thought you would've left with that pool table guy.'

Cas leaned close to Dean's ear so he didn't have to yell. 'I was going to, until I noticed you sitting here getting drunk off your ass and acting like a creep magnet.'

'What?'

'You're giving off the terrified vibes of either a straight guy afraid of getting hit on or a closet case out for a first try. Either way, it can attract creeps, so unless you _want_ to get molested by the bear in the leather vest over there, I suggest you put your arm around my waist.'

As it happened, Dean did _not_ want to be molested by the bear in the leather vest, so he slid his arm around Cas's waist. His shirt was soft and his waist was firm, and Dean rested his head against Cas's shoulder.

'Your shirt is strokey. Can I stroke your shirt?' Dean asked, not bothering to wait for permission before running his fingers up and down Cas's side. 'Why did you want me to stroke your shirt again?' he asked with a confused furrow in his brow.

Cas chuckled. 'I wanted you to put your arm around me because if people think you're already taken, they'll leave you alone.'

'Aww, are you protecting me? You're so awesome!' Dean brought up his other arm and gave Cas a hug, but didn't bother to put the arm back down. 'You smell good, Cas. You smell good and you're strokey. Does that make me a little bit gay?'

Cas sighed. 'No, Dean, it doesn't make you even a little bit gay.' Cas sounded a little bit sad about it, and Dean frowned- he didn't want Cas to be sad.

'What about if I looked at your ass when you were playing pool and thought it was hot? Does that make me little bit gay?'

Cas choked on his beer and set it down, where Dean promptly claimed it and finished it off. 'I think you've had enough, Dean. How about I take you home?'

'Ha! Charlie said I would leave with somebody tonight! Boo ya!'

Cas pulled Dean up off the stool and held him steady. 'I doubt she meant that you'd be leaving with your roommate who's just trying to get your drunk ass home.'

'You lookin' at my drunk ass, Cas?' Dean grinned with a drunken wink. 'It's pretty good, right?'

'It's a great ass, Dean. Now come on, let's pay your tab.'

Dean wasn't quite legless, but he also didn't bother to remove the arm that was around Cas's waist. Cas found Charlie in the crowd and mimed that Dean was drunk and he was taking him home. Charlie nodded and gave him a thumbs up before returning her attention to her dance partner. Cas recovered Dean's credit card from the bar and paid the tab and a good tip in cash. On their way out the door he called an Uber, which was fortunately just five minutes away. That was enough time to get a glass of water down Dean's throat as well as his own.

'Do you really think I have a great ass, Cas? Heh, ass and Cas rhyme. That's funny.'

'Hilarious.' The car pulled up and Cas managed to get them both into the back seat without much trouble.

'Well do you?' Dean asked again.

'Do I what?'

'Think I have a great ass?'

'Yes, Dean, it's very nice. Now please stop trying to traumatise our driver.'

Said driver smiled into the rearview mirror. 'No skin off my nose, buddy. You guys are cute together.'

'Aww, thanks!' Dean cooed. 'See Cas, we're cute together.' He snuggled in against Cas, laying his head on his shoulder and hugging him again. Fortunately, the car pulled up to their apartment block before Dean could fall asleep, and Cas manhandled him up the stairs and into the apartment.

'Come on, Dean,' he said, dragging his roommate to the kitchen to drink more water and take two aspirin tablets. 'Take these and then we'll get you to bed.'

Dean leaned against Cas again. 'You gonna take me to bed, Cas?' he leered.

'Just take these,' Cas ordered, and Dean submitted. All business, he pulled Dean along to his room and made him sit on the bed while Cas removed his shoes.

'If you take my pants off, would that make me a little bit gay?' Dean asked when Cas stood up.

'No, Dean,' Cas said with an exasperated sigh. 'Me helping you get your pants off because you're so drunk you have no motor skills does not make you a little bit gay. You can stop worrying about it. My gayness is not contagious.'

'I know,' Dean mumbled as he lay back on the bed, 'but like, if I _wanted_ you to take my pants off, would that be a little bit gay?'

'I wish,' Cas muttered under his breath, bending over to undo the buttons on Dean's fly. Dean's hands grabbed his wrists, and he pulled Cas towards his face.

'What if I wanted to kiss you?' Dean asked breathily and closed the distance to press their lips together.

Cas gently pushed away and took back his hands. 'Ask me again sober and we can discuss it,' he replied softly. 'Goodnight Dean.'

The next morning, Dean woke up with a hangover, a hard-on, and a hint of humiliation. Although the details were somewhat fuzzy, he did remember Cas bringing him home, and he did remember flirting with him- well, trying to flirt with him anyway. Thinking back, he'd probably been really offensive, constantly asking if he was being 'a little bit gay'. He'd definitely have to apologise for ruining Cas's night and acting like a douche when Cas had been so nice. He slowly sat up, the headache not nearly as bad as it could have been thanks to Cas's forward thinking of water and aspirin, and he wriggled out of the jeans that had been opened but not removed by Cas. _I wish_. Dean was pretty sure he remembered Cas saying that, and there was some connection with his pants, but the memory just wasn't clear. Why had Cas unbuttoned his jeans but not taken them off? Oh, that's right, he'd been interrupted by Dean pulling him in for a kiss.

Son of a bitch.

OK, he'd kissed Cas. What had Cas done then? His face didn't hurt, so Cas clearly didn't punch him. He'd just kind of pushed away. Of course, he'd been nice about that too. Dammit, what had he said? Dean concentrated on retrieving his memory, and it floated to the surface of his brain.

_What if I wanted to kiss you?_

_Ask me again sober and we can discuss it._

Son. Of. A. Bitch.

**********

Cas bent over the pool table to line up his next shot; he just had to sink a couple more to win Max's phone number. It was a cheesy way of flirting, but Cas could tell that Max was competitive, and his eyes had lit up when he'd proposed the challenge and the prize. He made the shot, and as well as an appreciative whistle from Max, he also got applause.

'Woo! Go Cas!' Charlie cheered.

'Hi Charlie, happy birthday,' he replied, giving her a hug. 'You actually managed to drag Dean here after all.'

'Psht, I'm Charlie Fucking Bradbury, bitches,' she said. 'He accepted wingman duties, but hopefully I won't need it, because I've already made eye contact with a very attractive young lady and will be heading onto the dance floor shortly. I'll just watch you win first.'

Cas nodded and circled the table to take his final shot. Just before taking it, he winked up at Max, and the ball rolled smoothly into the pocket. Charlie gave another cheer and high-fived him, while Max just shook his head with a smile and took a piece of paper out of his pocket and scribbled down his number.

'Well-played, Cas,' Max said with a grin as Cas stepped a bit closer than necessary to collect his prize. He handed Cas the number to put into his phone and leaned over to say in his ear. 'I feel like I should have some kind of hilarious innuendo about pool cues and balls now, but I'm ashamed to say I got nothing.'

Cas laughed and put a hand on Max's shoulder. 'How about another game to give you time to think of one? You win, I have to give you my number, I win, I get to give you my number.'

Max laughed and let his hand slide down to Cas's lower back. 'I can think of another prize I'd prefer to play for,' he murmured seductively.

'Do tell,' Cas replied, letting himself shiver with the feeling of Max's breath on his neck.

'Damn, Cas. Your hotness must be making my brain melt. I'm sure I've got some kind of line about a free ticket for a ride or something, but I'm barely managing to keep speaking English right now,' Max admitted with a laugh.

Cas was more than happy to offer Max a ticket to ride, and was about to suggest that they make a speedy departure to his place when he happened to glance up at Dean. His table was covered in shot glasses and beer bottles, and Dean himself was swaying a bit on his stool. Just behind him, Cas could see a leather-vested bear eyeing up his roommate with lecherous intent. Charlie was occupied on the dance floor with an attractive brunette, so Cas sighed and decided to accept the responsibility of looking after drunk Dean.

'As excellent as that sounds, I'm sorry to say that I need to go take care of my roommate, who seems determined to drink himself into a stupor. I'll call you.' Max graciously accepted his excuses, and Cas made his way over to Dean's table. Dean looked up nervously, but immediately relaxed when he saw who it was.

'Cas! You're still here? I thought you would've left with that pool table guy.'

Cas leaned close to Dean's ear so he didn't have to yell. 'I was going to, until I noticed you sitting here getting drunk off your ass and acting like a creep magnet.'

'What?'

'You're giving off the terrified vibes of either a straight guy afraid of getting hit on or a closet case out for a first try. Either way, it can attract creeps, so unless you _want_ to get molested by the bear in the leather vest over there, I suggest you put your arm around my waist.'

Apparently, Dean did _not_ want to be molested by the bear in the leather vest, so he slid his arm around Cas's waist. Cas tried to keep his reaction calm when Dean rested his head against Cas's shoulder.

'Your shirt is strokey. Can I stroke your shirt?' Dean asked, not bothering to wait for permission before running his fingers up and down Cas's side. 'Why did you want me to stroke your shirt again?' he asked with a confused furrow in his brow.

Cas couldn't help but chuckle. 'I wanted you to put your arm around me because if people think you're already taken, they'll leave you alone.'

'Aww, are you protecting me? You're so awesome!' Dean brought up his other arm and gave Cas a hug but didn't bother to put the arm back down afterwards. 'You smell good, Cas. You smell good and you're strokey. Does that make me a little bit gay?'

Cas's heart was racing from being wrapped in Dean's arms, but he knew this was just some strange drunken reaction. 'No, Dean, it doesn't make you even a little bit gay,' he replied with a sigh.

'What about if I looked at your ass when you were playing pool and thought it was hot? Does that make me little bit gay?'

Cas choked on his beer and set it down, where Dean promptly claimed it and finished it off. He forced down the little scrap of hope that question caused and put his arm under Dean's shoulder to help him stand. 'I think you've had enough, Dean. How about I take you home?'

'Ha! Charlie said I would leave with somebody tonight! Boo ya!'

Cas pulled Dean up off the stool and held him steady. 'I doubt she meant that you'd be leaving with your roommate who's just trying to get your drunk ass home.'

'You lookin' at my drunk ass, Cas?' Dean grinned with a drunken wink. 'It's pretty good, right?'

Cas definitely couldn't disagree with that. 'It's a great ass, Dean. Now come on, let's pay your tab.' He dragged Dean along to the bar and retrieved his card to pay, leaving a hefty tip in cash as well. He also managed to catch Charlie's eye to let her know that Dean was drunk and needed help getting home, and she shot him a thumbs up.

Their Uber arrived as they stepped outside, and they climbed into the backseat as awkwardly as could be expected considering Dean's state of drunkenness. More awkward still, Dean cuddled right up against Cas and insisted on pursuing the topic of how Cas felt about his ass. Not even the Uber driver could save him, as he appeared to find them 'cute', and Dean's apparent delight about that was even more confusing.

Well, if he thought that was confusing, it was nothing compared to the very definite flirtation that took place when he finally got Dean to bed. And then… well.

Cas lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling and hoping for the sleep he knew wasn't coming anytime soon. He should have just gone home with Max. Unlike _certain_ people who were currently passed out in the other bedroom, that guy at least had actually been into other guys, and more particularly into Cas. But no, he just _had_ to go look after Dean. Beautiful, funny, adorable Dean, whose lips had been so soft when he drunkenly pulled Cas down for a kiss as he asked whether wanting it made him a little bit gay. Dean had freaking _kissed_ him, and holy shit, it had been amazing. He'd had to pull himself away, but he couldn't resist telling Dean that if he still meant it when sober, he'd be happy to discuss it.

Cas groaned at the memory and covered his face with a pillow. This was not the first time Cas had looked after a straight dude who got a bit flirty after too many drinks, and he doubted it would be the last; but this one hurt a bit more than usual, because of course Cas had been stupid enough to get a crush on his roommate. He knew better, of course. He knew better than to have a crush on his roommate, and he knew better than to have a crush on a straight guy, but something in his brain had fried when Dean had opened the door that first night. He was just. So. Hot. And then he turned out to be fun and nice and have good taste in music and an awesome car, and how was Cas supposed to resist that?

He hadn't.

And now this. What even was this? He'd thought that maybe Dean had been acting strangely around him for a couple of weeks, then decided he was being paranoid, but what if there was something going on with Dean? Maybe he'd started thinking about Cas in a different way and was feeling awkward about it. Hope made Cas's heart beat faster, but he tried to squash it down. This was just wishful thinking. So Dean had been a bit weird lately; there were any number of potential causes for that. Just because he'd been a bit touchy-feely when utterly plastered did not mean he'd suddenly, magically gone gay for Cas. Unfortunately.

With a resigned sigh, Cas rolled over onto his side and forced himself to count sheep until he finally drifted off. 


	3. Chapter 3

Dean's birthday was two weeks after Charlie's, and the three of them went to Dean's favourite bar for burgers and beers to celebrate. Things with Cas had settled into a kind of normal- Dean had apologised for acting like an asshole and thanked Cas profusely for looking after him. Cas had said it was no trouble and that he knew Dean was just being awkward rather than homophobic. They didn't mention the kiss, and Dean assumed that _Cas_ assumed that Dean had forgotten it.

Dean had not forgotten it.

Dean had the opposite of forgotten it. More than that, really, because the opposite of forgot is remembered, and he didn't just remember it. He thought about it constantly. He thought about Cas's promise to discuss it sober. He pictured Cas's lips on his, and then maybe those lips would move to his neck, and maybe down to his chest after that, and then… yeah, Dean was definitely jerking off over thoughts of his roommate pretty regularly now. But that didn't mean he was ready to talk about it sober.

And he was definitely not sober now, as Charlie waved goodbye and got into her Uber while Dean and Cas got into theirs. Dean was nowhere near as drunk as he'd been two weeks earlier, but he was definitely still the worse for wear. Drunk enough to rest his head against Cas's shoulder in the backseat; drunk enough to press against Cas's back while Cas unlocked the apartment door; drunk enough to pull Cas into a hug once they were inside, and drunk enough to plant a soft kiss at the spot just behind Cas's ear. Cas gently pushed him away with a quiet, 'Goodnight Dean,' and they both went to their rooms.

They didn't talk about that the next morning either.

Two weeks later it was just the two of them, out at the pool hall around the corner having a few games and drinking some beers. Dean was just slightly buzzed, minorly tipsy really, and when they walked back to the apartment he bumped Cas's shoulder and smiled. When they got to the door, Cas got his keys out, and Dean slipped his arm around Cas's waist and laid his head on Cas's shoulder. When they got inside, Cas wriggled away and sighed.

'Dean, what's going here?'

'With what?'

'With all the… touchy-feely every time you get drunk.'

'I'm not drunk.'

'You're not sober.'

'I know, I'm just… I remember what you said, and I'm working up to it, OK?'

'Working up to what?'

'Being sober for it.' Cas blinked a few times, and Dean could tell when the penny dropped. Deciding that just now he was just a bit _too_ sober for whatever Cas might say to that, he mumbled a quick goodnight and escaped to his room.

They also didn't talk about that the next morning.

**********

Cas had just about managed to move past the drunken kiss by the time Dean's birthday came around two weeks after Charlie's. There had been burgers and beers and shots, and then Dean had cuddled him in the Uber and pressed against him at the door of their apartment, and _then_ Dean had freaking _kissed his neck_ , and it took all of his willpower to pull away yet again and beat a hasty retreat to his room. Again they didn't talk about it.

He tried to act as normal as possible, but when he next visited Jimmy and Amelia, they could tell something was bothering him. He blamed it on work stress rather than admit to them that his hot roommate's apparent sexual curiosity was driving him to jerk-off so often that he was considering buying shares in Astroglide.

Another couple of weeks later, Dean suggested a trip to the pool hall nearby, and Cas wasn't about to miss an opportunity to watch Dean bend over. They had a few beers of course, and Dean didn't seem much more than tipsy, but when they got home he slipped his arm around Cas's waist and lay his head on Cas's shoulder, and enough was enough.

Slipping out of Dean's embrace, Cas finally confronted him. 'Dean, what's going here?'

'With what?'

'With all the… touchy-feely every time you get drunk.'

'I'm not drunk,' Dean protested.

'You're not sober.'

'I know, I'm just… I remember what you said, and I'm working up to it, OK?'

'Working up to what?'

'Being sober for it.'

The air rushed out of his lungs as he realised what Dean was talking about. Dean mumbled a shy goodnight, cheeks pink with embarrassment, and Cas went to his own room with his heart beating so fast and so hard that he was almost afraid of cracking his sternum. He thought Dean had forgotten about that night, but clearly that wasn't the case. Dean was building up to talking about the kiss, and sending Cas positive signals in the form of flirtatious touches whenever he'd imbibed enough liquid courage to do so.

As Dean would say- son of a bitch.

Clearly Cas now needed to step up and provide positive feedback to ensure that Dean would follow through with his intentions. But how to help nudge him in the right direction, and indeed show encouragement without being too forward? Valentine's Day was coming up, maybe he could do something for that? He remembered Dean saying that he usually went out to pick people up on that particular holiday, but it hadn't escaped Cas's notice that Dean hadn't brought anyone home or spent the night away since Charlie's birthday. Perhaps Dean would be amenable to a different way of spending the day.

He thought long and hard about what Dean would enjoy, and couldn't help the smug grin that came to his lips when he came up with the perfect plan. He'd speak to Dean in the morning, and then spend the rest of the week trying to figure out how to get Dean to kiss him while sober.

**********

The following Saturday was Valentine's Day, or as Dean preferred to call his favourite holiday, Unattached Drifter Christmas. This year, however, he had no intention of going to a bar, getting drunk, and hooking up with some random chick. This year, as per Cas's suggestion, he and Cas were just going to hang out at the apartment and watch a Dr Sexy marathon in their pyjamas, and he couldn't wait.

They decided to start early, because there was a lot of Dr Sexy to get through, so at eleven a.m. they were on the couch with coffee and doughnuts. Dean was glad he'd seen all these episodes before, because he couldn't focus on the TV; all he could think about was the way Cas licked the powdered sugar from his fingertips and lips. Halfway through episode two, Dean found his sneaky sideways glances at Cas getting longer and less sneaky. When the end credits rolled on episode three, Cas noticed.

'What? Have I got sugar on my face or something?'

Dean had something really smooth planned to say. He'd been thinking about it all week, practicing it in his head. It was totally going to be an awesome, flirty, sexy line, he was going to wink, then he'd make one of his trademark suave moves to get Cas pliant and willing in his arms, and their lips would finally come together. Then Cas would be lying on his back, shirtless, and Dean would kiss every inch of skin between Cas's neck and navel and lick those rock-hard abs like he'd pictured since that first time.

Unfortunately, all of that flew out of Dean's head right when it mattered. Cas was staring at him, and he panicked, trying desperately to remember his plan, but only one thread came back to him.

'I want to lick your abs,' he blurted out pathetically.

Cas's eyes went wide, and he just started at Dean as if his roommate had grown a second head, or said something completely inane like _I want to lick your abs_.

Son of a bitch.

'Um,' Cas replied. 'Thank you?'

'Dammit. Sorry, I, uh, I meant to say I want to kiss you, but my brain just froze, and I do kinda want to lick your abs, but that's a super weird thing to say, I mean, that's something you build up to right? You don't just open with that like some fuckin' creepy weirdo, I mean, I'm not a creepy weirdo, I just imagined licking you lots of places, not like lots of places like different buildings or something, but like different places on you, but I shouldn't have said that first.' Oh good, his inability to speak had been replaced by complete verbal diarrhoea. 'I'm not even drunk, I remember what you said, that we could talk about it if I was sober, so I stayed sober today, I mean, it's only like one in the afternoon, but it's not like that's ever stopped me, I mean I'm not an alcoholic, I don't day drink that often, but sometimes a lunchtime beer is good, but I haven't had any beer, because you said I had to be sober and I want to kiss you.'

Well, after that display, Dean figured he'd be lucky if anyone wanted to kiss him ever again, never mind Cas right now. He closed his eyes to block out whatever horrified expression was probably on Cas's face, so it was a surprise when he felt a hand cup his jaw. His eyes flew open, and Cas was _right there,_ mere inches away from his face, and not looking horrified at all. In fact, he was kinda blushing and smiling.

'I've thought about licking you too,' Cas said with a teasing glint in his eye. 'And kissing you.'

'Oh,' Dean said, and then Cas was kissing him.

Son of a bitch. It felt _good_.

**********

Cas could feel Dean's eyes on him, but he was still at a complete loss about how to get Dean to overcome that last hurdle and just _do_ something. Eventually he decided to tease Dean about the staring and asked if he had sugar on his face. Dean's reply was not exactly what he had expected.

'I want to lick your abs,' Dean blurted out, and immediately cringed as if he hadn't meant to say it. Cas, on the other hand, was perfectly delighted to hear it.

A rambling stream of consciousness came tumbling out of Dean's mouth, but Cas barely paid attention. As soon as Dean paused, closing his eyes as if to hide, Cas brought his palm to Dean's face.

'I've thought about licking you too,' Cas admitted with a teasing grin. 'And kissing you.' Before Dean could get much of a word in edgewise, Cas went for the kiss, and he knew at that moment that he was a completely lost cause. Dean Winchester had him, hook, line and sinker, and right now he didn't mind one bit.

**********

Dean surged forward and got Cas on his back, grinding down against him when he realised that they were both well on their way to getting hard. Dean's cell phone rang, but when he sat up it wasn't to answer it but to pull off his t-shirt and tug at Cas's for him to do the same; when it rang again a few minutes later, he was too busy _finally_ licking Cas's abs to answer it. When it rang a third time, he got up to turn it off, and took advantage of being on his feet to take off his pants; Cas followed his good example. He also took advantage of Dean being on his feet to put himself at just the right height to get his mouth around Dean's cock.

Which was what Charlie saw when she walked in the front door.

'AAARRGH! OH MY GOD SO MUCH PENIS!' she shrieked, slamming the door shut and shielding her eyes. Cas and Dean scrambled to pull apart and shield their genitals from Charlie's view; Dean grabbed their pyjama pants and chucked a pair at Cas while stepping into the other pair in his hands. It was only when he saw the KU logo on Cas's legs that he realised he'd put on Cas's cartoon bumblebee pants by mistake. Oh well, the important thing was that their wangs weren't out anymore, and it was actually kind of adorable that they were wearing each other pyjamas, and he would definitely revisit this with Cas later once Charlie got the fuck out of his house so he and Cas could just fucking fuck already.

'What the hell, Charlie? Ever heard of knocking?' he growled.

'I just came over to watch Dr Sexy with you guys!' she cried, eyes still covered. 'I didn't exactly expect to walk into a gay porno at two in the afternoon!'

'You can open your eyes, and you definitely could have warned us you were coming!' Dean shouted back.

'I called three times! I assumed your phone was charging in your room or something!'

Ah, the phone calls he had ignored in favour of licking. Oops.

'Well, we were busy! And I thought you were supposed to be out with your lady friend anyway?'

'And I thought you were supposed to be straight, yet here we are!'

Dean took a deep breath and lowered the volume of his voice. 'Well, it would appear that I'm not as straight as we thought I was.' He smiled down at Cas, who was still sitting looking stunned on the couch, and the grin he got in return made him feel all warm and tingly.

Charlie's shoulders slumped. 'And it would appear that I got dumped.'

'What? What do you mean you got dumped?'

'Dorothy was supposed to text me today to tell me where to meet her, but it's been radio silence. She's ignored all my messages and calls. I've been ghosted.'

Dean rushed over to her side and enveloped her in a hug. 'Oh, Charlie.' He looked over at Cas, who didn't even need a mimed hint at what to do; he'd already put his shirt back on and tossed Dean's over to him on his way to the kitchen. In the blink of an eye they were all around the kitchen table eating ice cream. 'I'm sorry it's turned out to be a crappy day for you.'

'Yeah, getting dropped like a lead balloon and then getting an eye full of blow job was definitely not how I'd hoped to spend Valentine's Day,' Charlie said sadly. 'Not that I'm upset about you getting a blow job!' she hastily added. 'I mean, I'm glad somebody's getting some action today. So, how long has this been a thing?'

'About an hour,' Cas replied at the same time that Dean said, 'About three months.'

'What?' Cas and Charlie said at the same time. Dean blushed and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

'Uh, I mean, I've been thinkin' about it for about three months. Most of the actual… stuff just started today.'

Of course Charlie would latch on to just one word of that.

'Most?' she asked with a raised eyebrow. Dean and Cas looked at each other, and Cas shrugged as if to say, _Tell her if you want_.

'Um, yeah, well, on your birthday I kinda kissed Cas.'

'WHAT? When? Why didn't I see it?'

'It was when he took me to bed.'

Cas jumped in before Charlie could make another assumption. 'He was drunk, and I just helped him to his room. He kissed me, and I stopped him, nothing else happened. I thought he'd forgotten about it.'

'But I didn't. And then after my birthday, I was kinda being touchy-feely, but I was drunk again and he wouldn't let me do anything. And last week we went out and played pool, and I flirted again, and I told him I was working up to doing it sober.'

'Because when he kissed me the first time I said we could talk about it if he was sober,' Cas explained, filling in the explanatory gap that Dean had left.

'So I guess you're sober today?' Charlie asked, her own pain almost forgotten. 'And somewhat less than straight?' Dean nodded and reached out for Cas's hand. 'Well, this is freakin' adorable, and I feel really bad for interrupting the hot man sex now. I'll get out of your hair.'

'It's OK Charlie, stay, we'll watch Dr Sexy and complain about women, it'll be fun.'

'Are you sure?'

'Of course,' Cas agreed. 'It'll be fun.'

Charlie finally agreed, and decided it would be fun to live tweet the marathon. She had just started composing the first tweet when her phone rang, 'unknown number' showing on the screen. 'Hello?' Cas and Dean watched her face go from confused frown to wide-eyed surprise to delighted smile as the other person spoke. 'Yes, of course I still want to! OK, I'll be there in fifteen minutes. See you soon, bye!' She hung up grinning from ear to ear. 'That was Dorothy! She dropped her phone down the toilet this morning. She's spent the last four hours drying it out and trying to get my phone number!'

'So how did she get it?'

'She ended up calling the phone network and they talked her through downloading her contacts from the cloud onto an old phone. It's adorable, she's a complete luddite. She only had everything saved on the cloud because I did it for her!'

'That's wonderful, Charlie,' Cas said warmly. 'I hope you have a lovely date.'

'Yeah, go get her, tiger!' Dean added.

Charlie jumped off the coach, hugging them both before running for the door. 'Enjoy your hot man sex!'

Once the door was safely locked, Dean turned back to Cas, suddenly feeling shy. 'So.'

'So.' Apparently Cas was shy too. 'Three months?'

'Yeah. Sorry. I hope that's not like, weird or anything.'

'I don't think it's weird, but then, I've had a crush on you since I moved in, so I'm probably not the best judge.'

'Really?'

'Of course. Have you _seen_ you?'

'So you don't mind me jerking off thinking about you?'

'Only if you do it without me from now on.'

Son. Of. A. Bitch.

Dean grabbed Cas's hand and all but ran to his bedroom. He didn't even bother closing the door before pulling off his t-shirt and dropping the bumblebee pyjama pants. Cas bumped it shut while taking off his own clothes, and then he was down on his knees to finish what he'd started. Dean's fingers tangled into Cas's hair as he tried desperately not to thrust his hips into the wet heat of Cas's mouth.

'Holy shit!' Dean cried out when Cas pulled his dick deeper into his throat and swallowed around it. He'd never been deep throated before, and the new sensations were threatening to send him over the edge more quickly than he'd like. 'Cas, I'm too close,' he panted in warning.

Cas slowly pulled off and looked up at Dean with a surprisingly shy grin. 'Good so far?'

Dean pulled him to his feet and into a deep kiss. 'Awesome. So hot,' he mumbled against Cas's lips. He slipped his hand between their bodies to wrap tentative fingers around Cas's cock. Cas moaned at the touch, and that encouraged Dean to tighten his grip and start stroking.

'Can we get on the bed?' Cas asked. He didn't wait for a reply, just pushing Dean back until the back of his knees hit the side of the bed. He lay back on it, and Cas climbed on top of him. 'Is this OK?' he asked as he slotted their cocks together and began rolling his hips.

'Hell yeah,' Dean replied enthusiastically. 'God, I want you so bad.'

'Me too. You're so gorgeous. I've wanted to fuck you since you opened the door when I came to look at the room.'

'Oh,' Dean said with surprise. 'You go that way around?'

Cas stopped moving. 'What way around?'

'You know, like, doing the fucking.'

'Um, sometimes. It depends on the partner.'

'And you want to do it that way with me?'

'Dean, I want to do everything every way with you,' Cas admitted, quickly adding, 'but only what you want to do. I know this is all new to you, I don't expect-'

'I want to,' Dean interrupted. 'Everything. Maybe not right away, but, yeah. With you I want to.'

'Fuck, Dean,' Cas sighed, grinding their hips together again. 'I never thought I could have this with you.'

'Me neither. I thought you were a power bottom.'

Cas collapsed onto Dean in a fit of laughter, and when it showed no signs of stopping, rolled onto his back next to him to avoid crushing him. 'I meant because I thought you were straight,' he explained once he could speak again.

'Oh, right, duh,' Dean replied a bit sheepishly.

'You're not completely wrong,' Cas assured him. 'I do both, but I'm pretty damn bossy when I bottom.'

'Right?' Dean said eagerly. 'That's exactly what I imagined. Like you'd throw me on my back and just ride me until you come.'

'You… imagined that?'

'Pretty much constantly for the last month and a half, yeah.'

'Jesus. I kind of wish I'd known that a bit sooner,' Cas admitted, letting his hands start to wander along Dean's skin again.

'I probably needed the time just to get used to the idea, to be honest,' Dean replied. 'It's all kinda new, being into dudes.'

'You never had an inkling before?'

'Looking back, yeah, I think I always had some leanings, but I liked girls too, so it was easier to just be straight, you know? I just tried to ignore the little voice in my head that said things like maybe my little man crushes on Dr Sexy and Gunner Lawless were more like real crushes.'

'So, what changed now?'

Dean smiled at Cas with a surprising amount of tenderness. 'I met somebody who made me want to listen to that little voice for the first time.'

Afraid that such sweet emotion was going to make him accidentally say something stupid like _I love you_ , Cas kissed Dean again, sweet and slow, getting back on top and lining up their hips so he could take them both in hand.

'Does that feel good?' he asked as Dean let out little whimpers of pleasure.

'Hell yeah,' Dean panted, 'but don't make me come this way. I wanna fuck you so bad, Cas.'

Cas groaned, desperate with want for the very same thing. 'You mentioned something about me riding you, I believe?'

'Fuck, yeah, Cas, ride me. There's stuff in the drawer there.' He waved towards the nightstand, and Cas reached over to pull out a condom and lube. 'I hope that lube's OK. I, uh, I bought it, uh, you know, just in case, 'cause I know the regular kind doesn't last as long for, um, you know, butt stuff.'

Cas grinned. 'Just how much research have you done, Dean?' he whispered in his ear.

'Enough to know that I'm definitely not straight,' Dean joked. Cas just smiled back, squeezed some lube into his finger, and reached back to begin opening himself up. 'Holy shit,' Dean whispered. 'Are you… fuck. Can… can I help?' he asked breathlessly.

Cas nodded and handed Dean the lube. He imitated what Cas had done and slicked up one finger, tentatively bringing it around the curve of Cas's hip. Cas removed his own to allow him to guide Dean's hand, and a moment later they both moaned as two fingers entered Cas's tight heat. Cas led the way, and within a few minutes, he was pushing Dean's hand away and tearing open the condom.

'Fuck, Cas,' Dean murmured as he got Dean ready. 'You're so fuckin' hot.'

Cas didn't reply; he just slid slowly down Dean's length until he was fully seated. Dean gripped his hips tightly, stopping Cas from moving until Dean got used to the feeling. It was so much tighter than he was used to, and he was much closer than he'd like.

'Dean,' Cas sighed, 'you feel amazing.'

'You too,' Dean agreed. 'Too good. I'm not gonna last long.'

'Neither am I. Touch me,' Cas ordered, but didn't wait for Dean to move of his own volition. He grabbed Dean's right hand, wrapped it around his cock, and began to fuck into it with rolls of his hips that sent sparks shooting up Dean's spine.

'Fuck!' Dean cried out, screwing his eyes shut as he frantically tried to jack Cas's cock and thrust up into him at the same time, while Cas just rode him like a pro. Then suddenly Dean's hand was wet, and he opened his eyes to see Cas's head thrown back in pleasure while his cock throbbed and spurted come onto both of them. Dean could feel Cas's muscles squeezing around him, and then it was all over for him too.

Cas pulled off of Dean's cock and collapsed down onto his chest, breathing heavily. Dean brought his clean hand around to rub Cas's back gently, giving him time to recover from what had clearly been a pretty great orgasm. Dean felt pretty smug about that. After a couple of minutes, Cas rolled off and onto his back, and Dean took care of the condom and grabbed tissues for them to clean up.

Dean rolled onto his side to face Cas, who did the same. 'So, uh, that was kind of awesome,' he said shyly. He was rewarded with one of Cas's rare wide smiles.

'Very awesome,' Cas agreed. 'So, um… what now? With us, I mean?'

'I dunno, I guess we're like a thing now or something?' Dean replied with his usual eloquence. 'If you want.'

'What kind of thing? A sex thing, or a relationship thing?'

'Which one do you want?' Dean asked. He knew which answer he wanted to hear.

'I would prefer the second one. I'm not sure I could handle just being a fuck buddy.'

Dean sighed with relief. 'Yeah, me too, I want that one too,' he stammered. 'I really like you.'

'Me too.' Cas kissed him again, slowly and without urgency this time, and Dean pulled him tightly into his arms. 'Do you still want to watch some Dr Sexy, or do you want to just lie around in bed naked for the rest of the day?'

'Yes,' Dean replied emphatically. 'I'll get my laptop and we can watch it here. I declare a no-pants rule for today.'

'I second the motion. How about I whip up some mac and cheese for lunch?'

'You're a damn genius, Cas. I'll allow a temporary bending of the no-pants rule for cooking. You do that, I'll set up the Netflix.'

Cas slipped on Dean's sweatpants again, and the sight of it brought a cheesy grin to Dean's face. They were a little tight around Cas's muscular thighs, and Dean decided that as soon as they could go another round, he wanted those very thighs wrapped around him.

The rest of the day was spent watching Dr Sexy, cuddling, eating, making out, and fucking again, and they fell asleep curled against each other. Dean couldn't imagine a more perfect day.


	4. Chapter 4

Cas woke up alone, and immediately assumed that he'd dreamed the whole thing. He kept his eyes shut tight, avoiding reality for a bit longer. Then he felt a body slide back under the covers, lips pressing a kiss to his forehead, and he opened his eyes to see Dean smiling at him.

'Mornin', sunshine. I made coffee, you want some?'

Cas ignored the question and just pulled Dean in for a kiss. Fortunately, Dean was more than happy to oblige, and they just exchanged soft, tender kisses until Cas's stomach growled. Dean's laughter ended the smooching, and Cas shot him a dirty look.

'How about I fry up some bacon and eggs?' Dean offered with a wink. 'Gotta keep your strength up, after all.'

'Oh? Do you have plans for me?' Cas asked suggestively, pushing his hips against Dean's side to show that he was up for any plans Dean might have.

'I do now,' Dean said eagerly, and rolled Cas onto his back, pinning his hands above his head. 'Maybe for breakfast I could have-' he broke off and started giggling.

'What's so funny?' Cas asked, but Dean just shook his head and kept laughing. 'Let me guess- you were going to make some kind of joke about breakfast sausage?' Cas rolled his eyes affectionately when Dean laughed even louder and nodded. 'Well, the mood is ruined. Come on, go make me some bacon.'

**********

Dean had always thought relationships were difficult. They took a lot of effort, and you could never be sure if the other person was really as into you as you were into them. You had to be a mind-reader, but you couldn't assume too much; you had to compromise and give up parts of yourself and it was just hard work.

Well, that was what he used to think.

It turned out that all he really needed was to be in a relationship with his best friend. Everything just _clicked_ with Cas. The smoothness of living together translated into the smoothness of _being_ together, and as the weeks turned into months, Dean only got happier and more confident.

There was just one teensy detail.

The thing about spending your whole life just dating women and then suddenly falling for a guy was that it meant announcements and explanations. That was fine in person- someone Dean knew saw them together, Dean introduced Cas as his boyfriend, done. He just… hadn't quite figured out how to tell Sam. He didn't know how to bring it up in conversation, and Sam wasn't the kind of person to be nosy about Dean's love life, so there were no casual 'So, you seeing anyone?' type questions that Dean could answer with, 'Actually…'

The longer it went on, the more awkward it became, and though Cas encouraged him to tell his brother, Dean just couldn't find a way to bring it up. Eventually he gave himself the excuse that he was going to wait to do it in person next time he saw Sam, and as that wasn't likely to be until Thanksgiving, he considered it a problem solved.

Cas's family was much easier, seeing as how they were in town and Cas already saw them regularly. He mentioned that he'd like to bring Dean over, and the invitation to bring him for dinner the following week was immediately extended.

'Dean, come on, you look fine,' Cas insisted as Dean frowned into the mirror.

'I wanna make a good impression,' Dean replied. 'Don't want 'em to think I'm a slob.'

Cas walked up behind Dean and tucked his head over his shoulder. 'You look great. They have a fourteen-month-old, they're not exactly going to be in silk and cashmere.'

'Right. OK, let's go.' He kissed Cas's hand and they made their way out to Baby for the short drive over. 'So, am I gonna get the "if you hurt my brother I'll kill you" speech tonight?' he joked.

'No, I'm sure Jimmy wouldn't do that. He's not that much of a dumbass.'

Dean chuckled. 'Hey, so how come he got a normal name and you got stuck with Castiel? Uh, I mean, not that I don't like your name, it's just, you know, unusual compared to James.'

Cas raised an eyebrow. 'Nice save. But Jimmy isn't short for James. His name is Jamaerah, the angel of manifestation.'

'Holy shit, that's rough.'

'Yes, I was definitely the lucky one.'

The journey was brief, and they were soon pulling up to the modest two-story house. Dean parked in the driveway, and they walked up to porch hand-in-hand. Amelia opened the door before they even had to knock, Claire on her hip.

'Hi Cas, come on in. And you must be Dean.' She extended a hand to shake, which Dean took with a smile.

'That's me. And since you don't look exactly like Cas, I'm guessing you're Amelia. And this must be Claire.' He gave the little girl a light boop on the nose, and she smiled brightly in return before extending her arms to him and wriggling away from her mother's grasp.

'Looks like somebody likes you,' Amelia joked, and Dean grinned as he took Claire in his arms. She immediately nestled against his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck.

'Hey Claire, I'm Dean.'

'Hi Dee,' she replied, and then noticing Cas for the first time, gave him a little wave and said, 'Hi Uncky Cas.'

'Hi Claire-Bear. Do you like Dean? He's my boyfriend,' he told her conspiratorially.

Claire nodded emphatically and pointed at Dean's cheeks. 'Vema dots.'

Amelia laughed. 'Yes, Claire, Dean has freckles like Velma. She's really into Scooby-Doo,' she explained, and Dean's face lit up.

'Scooby-Doo is my favourite!' he said to Claire, who looked at him in awe. 'Rooby-rooby-roooooo!' Claire giggled and clapped her hands, and Dean had a fan for life.

'Amelia, are you going to make our guests eat on the porch?' came a voice from down the hall. They all stepped inside as Jimmy came out of the kitchen to greet them. It was definitely a bit surreal for Dean to see an almost perfect double of Cas, albeit one with much tidier hair and a higher-pitched voice. Cas gave him a hug, then nodded towards Dean.

'Jimmy, this is Dean. Dean, my brother Jimmy.'

'Nice to meet you, Jimmy. Thanks for inviting me.'

'You too. We've heard so much about you over the past year. As the older brother, I have to ask you- what are your intentions towards our Cas?' he asked sternly and was immediately smacked upside the head by both Amelia and Cas. 'Ow! What was that for?'

'You're ten minutes older, you d-' he cut himself off, looking at Claire. 'Uh, dork.'

'It still gives me big brother duties. You understand, don't you, Dean?' Jimmy asked with a wink.

'Oh yeah, big brother duties are sacred,' Dean agreed with false solemnity. 'But you probably don't want to know what my intentions are towards your brother, and this little lady is definitely too young to hear about them.' He waggled his eyebrows and leered at Cas, who smirked back.

'Well, that backfired, didn't it, sweetie?' Amelia teased her husband, who had scrunched up his nose at Dean's innuendo. They all laughed, and Cas and Dean were led to the dining room. While Jimmy went to get the food from the kitchen, Amelia tried to put Claire in her high chair, but she refused to let go of Dean. In the end he had to eat with her sitting in his lap, and when it was time to put her to bed, Dean had to be the one to read the story and tuck her in.

'Congratulations, Dean,' Cas said when he came back to the living room. 'You've earned the seal of approval of the most important Novak.'

Dean sat down next to him and gave him a brief kiss. 'Who knew the secret to making kids like you is doing a Scooby-Doo impression?'

The rest of the evening passed in friendly conversation, and it was clear by the end of it that Jimmy and Amelia had joined Claire in giving Dean the thumbs-up. They parted with a promise to repeat the occasion again soon, and from then on, Dean joined Cas on his bi-monthly family dinners.

They were lying in bed after one such evening in June, and out of nowhere Cas chuckled to himself. 'What's so funny?' Dean asked.

'I was just thinking that if we were to split up, the most devastated person might be Claire.'

'Nah, she'd still be my best girl, even if you didn't want to see me anymore.'

Cas rolled onto his side and propped his head up with his head, looking at Dean curiously. 'You think I'd be the one to break up with you?'

'I dunno, you'd probably get sick of putting up with my shit,' Dean joked.

'I find that unlikely. You'd probably break up with me first.'

Dean rolled over to mirror Cas's position and frowned. 'Why do you think that?'

Cas shrugged. 'I suppose you'd miss girls eventually.' He tried to say it lightly, teasingly, but he couldn't quite hide the genuine worry in his voice.

'Hey,' Dean said gently, cupping Cas's face with one hand, 'not gonna happen. If things don't work out between us, it won't be because of that.'

'How do you know?'

'Because I love you, Cas.'

Cas felt like his heart would beat out of his chest. He captured Dean's lips in a passionate kiss, pushing him onto his back and straddling his legs. 'I love you, too,' he said breathlessly, 'so much, Dean.'

'Awesome,' Dean replied with a bright grin. 'Grab the lube.'

Cas laughed, but reached into the nightstand anyway. 'And they say romance is dead.' He put the tube on his pillow and stripped out of his t-shirt and boxers as Dean did the same, then opened the cap and squeezed some onto his finger. He went to reach around to start opening himself up, but Dean grabbed his wrist to stop him.

'I had something else in mind,' Dean said meaningfully, and spread his legs in invitation, putting a pillow under himself as he'd seen Cas do.

'Oh fuck,' Cas murmured, 'are you sure?'

'I want you, Cas. Please.' He pulled his knees back, and Cas swallowed hard as he kneeled between them. He started slowly, circling Dean's rim with his lubed finger, but Dean was impatient. 'Cas, I've been practicing, you can go faster.'

Cas looked up, surprised. 'Practicing?'

'Yeah, like in the shower, I've tried it a few times, just a finger or two,' Dean admitted. 'So it's not totally weird.'

'Oh my god,' Cas replied with a happy sigh. 'You've been… you are just full of surprises, Dean.' He emphasised the point by sliding his index finger all the way in. Dean rolled his hips and squeezed around it instinctively. Then Cas curled his finger forward, and Dean let out an astonished shout.

'Holy shit! Was that what I think it was?'

'Mmm hmm,' Cas replied, continuing to stroke the spot. 'Good?'

'Awesome,' Dean grinned. 'Keep going.'

Cas added a second finger, and eventually a third, teasing at Dean's prostate occasionally, but mostly focused on making sure he was ready for what was to come. After what felt like ages for both of them, he wiped his hand on the sheet and put on a condom.

'Ready?'

'Please,' Dean panted, eyes begging, and that was more than enough for Cas. Adding a bit of extra lube for good measure, he lined himself up and slowly slid into Dean, watching him for any sign of discomfort.

'OK so far?' he asked gently.

'Good, real good, sweetheart,' Dean sighed. 'More.' He wrapped his legs around Cas's waist to try to bring him in faster, but Cas resisted. 'C'mon, Cas, faster,' he whined.

'Now who's the bossy bottom?' Cas teased, still moving far too slowly. Dean replied by thrusting his hips up, and Cas snapped his own hips forward in response, in to the hilt at last. 'Dean, fuck, please don't move, I'm going to come too quickly if you don't give me a second,' Cas warned.

'I know the feeling,' Dean joked. 'C'mere.' He pulled Cas down for a kiss, which quickly turned hot and heavy. Cas slowly began to roll his hips, grinding against Dean and providing delicious friction against Dean's cock with those firm abs Dean was so fond of licking. They didn't speak again, mouths too busy alternating between kissing and panting for breath as Cas gradually increased his pace, until one final thrust saw him throwing his head back in ecstasy as he came.

Barely missing a beat, he took advantage of his yoga-derived flexibility to curl down and take Dean's dick in his mouth even as his own still throbbed inside him. It barely took a moment before Dean was shooting hot and deep down his throat.

Cas carefully pulled out, gripping the base of the condom and tying it off before letting himself flop down on his back next to Dean.

'Hey, Cas?' Dean said as he cleaned himself up.

'Yeah?'

'We're definitely doing that again.'

Cas rolled onto his side and smiled at Dean. 'I'm glad you liked it.'

'Yeah. Um, did _you_ like it?' Dean asked shyly.

'Of course,' Cas replied, cuddling against him to emphasise his reassurance. 'I loved it.'

'Good. As long as I did OK.'

'You felt amazing and looked beautiful, and I look forward to doing it again many more times for as long as you'll let me,' Cas said seriously, and kissed the smug grin from Dean's face.

'So I was thinking,' Dean began again after a long pause. 'I've got tons of space in my closet.'

'Yes, coming out of it will do that,' Cas teased, earning him a pinch on the thigh.

'I mean my actual closet, smartass. The drawers too, I've got like three empty ones and the second nightstand is empty.'

'OK… do you want to go shopping?' Cas asked, confused.

'No.' Dean rolled his eyes and sighed. 'I mean, unless you've got tons of clothes, your stuff would fit. Cause I thought maybe you could, you know, move into my room. Officially.'

'I don't know, Dean,' Cas said solemnly. 'Living together is a pretty big step.'

Dean laughed and gave him a shove. 'You asshole.' Cas grinned, unable to maintain the façade. 'I'm serious, dude. You sleep in my room most of the time anyway, we've said the L word, it's kinda the next step, right?'

'I suppose it is, but if you're not ready, we don't have to.'

'I wouldn't have brought it up if I wasn't. But if _you_ don't want to-'

'I'd love to, thank you for asking,' Cas interrupted, and rewarded Dean's cheerful smile with a kiss. 'But can it wait until tomorrow? I'm kind of tired after fucking you into mattress.'

'Pfft, you call that fucking me into the mattress? I'm not even gonna be walking funny tomorrow,' Dean teased.

'Oh, is that what you want?' Cas asked, raising an eyebrow in challenge. 'Now I know how to approach things next time.'

Dean pulled Cas in for a lingering kiss. 'I can't wait.'

**********

Moving Cas's stuff didn't take very long the next morning, so they spent the rest of the day cuddled in bed watching Dr Sexy and making out. Dean was eager to try bottoming again, but Cas managed to persuade him to wait a couple of days, and made it worth his while when he really did fuck him into the mattress. When Charlie came over for gaming the following evening, she only slightly mocked him for walking a bit funny.

The summer carried on, with several more opportunities for Dean to practice coming out. Most nerve-wracking for him was his office's summer barbecue, where he essentially came out to the entire company by bringing Cas as his plus-one when only partners and children were allowed. He got a few funny looks, especially from people who had known about Carmen, but overall his co-workers seemed to be accepting, and he relaxed a little more.

He still didn't tell Sam, though.

It was late July before he started to think that this might come back to bite him in the ass. He usually spoke to Sam on the phone every couple of weeks, so it wasn't that unusual when his phone rang while he and Cas were eating his homemade lasagne in front of the TV- a documentary about bees that Cas had insisted on watching. It only had a few minutes left, so he got up and took the phone into the bedroom to let Cas keep watching in peace.

'Hey Sammy, how's it going?' he answered once the door was closed behind him.

'Hi Dean. I'm doing good, how are you?'

'Fine, just having some dinner and watching a bee thing that Cas wanted to watch.'

'A bee thing?'

'Yeah, Cas loves bees, man. It's some show about how they're going extinct or something.'

'You're… watching a nature documentary? On purpose?' Sam asked incredulously.

'Eh, I wasn't doing anything else,' he said casually, not about to tell Sam that he'd sit through a hundred nature documentaries if Cas really wanted him to, because it made Cas happy to watch them, and Dean loved seeing Cas happy. Sam didn't need to know that. 'So what's up?'

'Well, I've got a job interview in two weeks!'

'That's awesome man! Tell me all about it.'

'It's actually at an environmental law office in Chicago. Jess is from there, so we're both trying to get jobs in the city.'

'Dude, that would be amazing! You'd only be a couple of hours away from me!' Dean replied excitedly.

'I know, but we're going to try anyway,' Sam teased.

'Bitch,' Dean laughed. 'Will you have time to visit me when you come for your interview?'

'Yeah, the interview is on a Monday, so I thought I'd fly out Saturday and spend Sunday with you. Can you pick me up at the train station in Pontiac?'

'Yeah, of course, Sammy. Just let me know when you're getting in and I'll be there.'

'Great. Hey, is Cas gonna be around?'

'Yeah, he'll be here,' Dean replied, his heart rate increasing with the reminder that he'd finally be coming out to Sam.

'Awesome. I'm looking forward to finally meeting him, I feel like I've heard so much about him that I know him already.'

'You'll love him, you two nerds'll have lots to talk about,' Dean assured him. They chatted for a few more minutes while Sam booked his flight and they worked out the logistics, and hung up with the happy prospect of seeing each other soon. He pocketed his phone just as Cas was walking into the bedroom. 'Hey sweetheart, Sam's coming to visit in a couple of weeks. He's got a job interview in Chicago.'

'Oh, OK. Would you like me to stay at Jimmy's while he's here?'

'Why would you do that?' Dean asked with a frown.

Cas tilted his head in question. 'Well, you haven't told him about us yet, have you?'

'No, but this is the perfect opportunity. I can tell him face-to-face.'

'Are you sure?'

Dean cupped Cas's face with both hands and kissed him soundly. 'Hey, I'm not ashamed of this. I want Sam to know, I just always felt weird doing it over the phone. No way am I kicking you out of your own home to cover for me being a chickenshit.'

Cas smiled, his shoulders sagging with relief. 'OK. I'm really looking forward to finally meeting him.'

'He's looking forward to meeting you, too. You'll get along great, I know it,' Dean said confidently.

He was, perhaps, not quite as confident as he sounded. Oh, he was sure that Cas and Sam would get along fine, but he couldn't help being nervous about Sam's reaction to their relationship. For the first time, it occurred to him that Sam might feel hurt by not being trusted with the news sooner, and he worried that this would in turn have a negative effect on how he responded to Cas. Still, he couldn't quite find it in him to bring it up the next time they spoke on the phone, and before he could think any more about it, he was parked at the train station waiting to pick Sam up.

It was always easy to pick Sam out of a crowd, and Dean smiled as he saw the shaggy-haired head sticking above the other handful of people stepping onto the platform. Sam saw him, or at least the Impala, right away as well, and waved cheerfully as he made his way over. The brothers embraced tightly before Sam put his backpack and garment bag in the backseat. They discussed Sam's journey on the short drive to the apartment; Dean offered to swing by a drive-through to pick up some dinner, but Sam had already eaten in Chicago due to his late evening arrival, so there was no delaying the inevitable.

Dean opened the door to the apartment and called out a greeting to Cas, who stood up from the couch to meet them. Dean waves his hands between them as an introduction. 'Sam, this is Cas. Cas, Sam.'

Cas took Sam's extended hand and shook it firmly. 'It's great to finally meet you, Sam, I've heard a lot about you.'

'You too, Cas. Dean's always talking about you.' Sam looked around and started walking towards the living room. 'So I guess I'm on the couch?'

Dean and Cas looked at each other; this was it. Dean took a deep breath and said, 'No, you're in the second bedroom.'

Sam frowned in confusion. 'I thought that was Cas's room.'

'Uh, actually, it hasn't been Cas's room for a few weeks now.'

'I'm confused. Did he move out?'

'No. He… uh, he sleeps in my room now. With me.' He cleared his throat and put his arm around Cas's shoulders. 'We're, um, we're actually together.'

Sam's eyebrows almost reached his hairline, which was quite a feat given the large space they had to travel. 'Like, _together_ together?'

'Yep.'

Sam stared at the two of them for a few long moments before laughing and shaking his head. 'Good one, Dean. Very funny. Now seriously, where am I sleeping?'

'I'm serious, Sam. Cas and me are a couple. We've been dating since Valentine's Day.'

'Yeah, sure. I gotta say, Dean, as pranks go, this one is pretty weak.'

Cas looked at Dean, who was blushing bright red and fidgeting nervously, then back at Sam. 'I can assure you, Sam, that this isn't a prank. Your brother has been very nervous about this moment, and we would both appreciate your support.'

'Look, Cas, I don't know what he's giving you to play along with this, but I wasn't born yesterday, OK? Dean is pretty much the most heterosexual guy I've ever met, so I'm not buying it.'

'Jesus, Sammy!' Dean shouted. 'What do you want, a picture of his dick in my ass before you'll believe me? Fuck this shit.' He threw his hands up in the air and stormed off to his room, leaving a shocked Sam and an angry Castiel, who turned to Sam with a scowl.

'I certainly hope your manners will be better in the morning. Goodnight,' he said tersely before following Dean.

Sam stood in the hallway for another minute, feeling stunned and confused. Dean had never taken a prank this far before, and both he and Cas seemed pretty upset. Was he misjudging the situation? Was it possible that Dean and Cas actually were a couple? Turning the thought over in his mind, he went into the bedroom Dean had indicated, and found it as unlived-in as one would expect a guest room to be. If this _was_ normally Cas's room, they had really done a good job of removing all the evidence. He unpacked his duffel bag and got ready for bed, still contemplating the strange events of the evening as he settled into bed.

He started feeling guilty about Dean's reaction, but a part of him couldn't help but suspect that as soon as he apologised, Dean and Cas would laugh at how he fell for their elaborate joke. He decided to wait and see how they behaved in the morning; even Dean wouldn't keep up a hoax for longer than a day or two, especially if it required him to act like he was dating a guy.

It was later than usual when Sam woke up, which he blamed on staying up too late thinking, but it was still earlier than what he assumed were Dean's usual weekend hours. When he opened his door, however, he heard voices indicating that Dean and Cas were already awake and in the kitchen. Thinking this would be a perfect chance to watch them when they thought they were unobserved, he crept quietly down the hallway until he could just see into the kitchen. Dean was whisking pancake batter, and Cas stood next to him with his hand at the small of Dean's back. Sam had to admit that it looked pretty intimate.

'I'm sure he'll come around,' Cas said, leaning his head against Dean's shoulder. 'If it makes you feel any better, I don't think his reaction is because of homophobia or biphobia. He seems to really think this is a prank.'

Dean sighed and put down the bowl, turning to face Cas and putting his hands around his waist to pull him closer. 'I've played some dumb pranks before, but I would never joke about this. He knows you're gay, and it would be pretty shitty of me to rope you into this if it were a joke. He must really think I'm an asshole.'

Sam was hit by another pang of guilt; he had been so sure that Dean would confess immediately about the joke that it hadn't occurred to him how it would seem when he still refused to believe it after Dean's denials.

'He was probably just surprised,' Cas rebutted with a soothing hand running up and down Dean's arm. 'Just give him some time to get used to the idea.'

'You're so nice,' Dean said, pulling Cas tightly to his chest and kissing him, tender little pecks that quickly grew heated. 'Mmm, how about we go back to bed and give Sam some noisy proof that we're for real?' Dean kissed his way along Cas's jaw and down his neck, nuzzling affectionately, and Cas sighed as he wrapped his arms around Dean's neck.

'You promised me pancakes,' Cas pouted, but he didn't sound prepared to put up much of a fight.

'The batter can rest until Sam's awake,' Dean argued, and Sam thought this was the perfect opening for him to make his presence known.

'Actually, I'm awake already,' he announced, causing Dean and Cas to jump back from each other slightly. 'And I owe you guys an apology.' Within a few steps he was at their side and pulled them both into a hug. 'I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I was being an asshole.'

Dean's arm came up around Sam's and gave his shoulder a squeeze before Sam let them go and stepped back. 'What changed your mind?' Dean asked.

'Uh, I was kinda watching you guys for the last couple of minutes,' Sam admitted sheepishly. 'And, yeah, you're obviously together. You make a cute couple, actually.'

Dean flashed a lopsided grin under blushing cheeks. 'Thanks, we get that a lot.'

'So, um… how _did_ you guys get together?'

Cas told the story while Dean made pancakes and occasionally interjected his own comments into the narrative. 'So I moved into his room and that was that,' Cas finished in time for Dean to set the stack of pancakes on the table.

'That's a pretty adorable story,' Sam said with a grin. 'But if you guys have been together for months, why didn't you tell me sooner?'

Cas looked at Dean, who blushed. 'Uh, that’s on me. Cas thought I should tell you a while ago, but I was too chickenshit. My coming out process has been kinda slow.' He rubbed a hand up and down Cas's back affectionately. 'Cas has been really patient.'

'So who all knows?'

'Charlie, Cas's family, a couple of other friends, and recently I came out at work 'cause I wanted to take Cas to a work party. Everybody's been pretty cool about it.'

'That's great, Dean,' Sam said warmly, patting his shoulder before getting back to his pancakes. 'I'm sorry again that I didn't believe you.'

'Don't worry about it, I did kinda spring it on you out of nowhere. Hey, tell me about this interview you've got tomorrow.'

Sam accepted the change of subject and told Dean and Cas about the law firm he was hoping to work for. The interview was at eleven a.m., so his plan was to leave Pontiac early that morning on the train and finish preparing in a nearby coffee shop. Jess was flying in that same afternoon for her own interview at another company on Tuesday morning, so they were going to stay in a hotel in the city Monday night, and fly back to San Francisco Tuesday evening.

'It really would be awesome to have you close by, man,' Dean said when Sam was finished. 'Never having to get into a flying metal death trap again would be pretty awesome too.'

'Yeah, never having to pick your drunk ass up at the airport sounds pretty good to me, too,' Sam teased.

'Yeah, yeah. Now eat up, Charlie's coming over in less than an hour and she threatened to bring half her board game collection.'

The rest of the day was spent playing games, catching up, and, in the case of Cas and Charlie, getting to know Sam properly. Dean couldn't be happier that they all got along well, and as he suspected, Sam and Cas totally bonded over nerdy nature stuff, culminating in Cas's excitement over the fact that the law firm Sam was interviewing with had represented the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against a pesticide manufacturer whose products were implicated in bee deaths.

Charlie left not long after dinner, and Cas excused himself a bit after that to give the brothers a bit of time to themselves. He gave Dean a peck on the cheek, but Dean grabbed his t-shirt and pulled him in for a lingering, tender kiss and a promise that he wouldn't be long.

'You've really got it bad,' Sam said with a grin once Cas had left the room. 'I'm never seen you so sappy.'

'I love him,' Dean said seriously, and Sam's eyebrows again made the trek northwards. 'Pretty sure he's it for me.'

'Wow, Dean, that's… wow. That's fantastic, I'm really happy for you. Cas is great, really.'

'Yeah, he's pretty awesome,' Dean agreed, smiling shyly. 'So what about you and Jess? Wedding bells anytime soon?'

It was Sam's turn to smile. 'Maybe. We both want to get settled into our careers first, you know? But yeah, I think she's it too.'

Dean clinked his beer bottle against Sam's glass of water. 'Well look at us, Winchesters in love.'

'To Cas and Jess,' Sam toasted, raising his glass.

Dean raised his bottle and took a swig. 'May they never come to their senses!'

**********

Sam called a week later with the exciting news that both he and Jessica had been offered the jobs they interviewed for and would be moving to Chicago in September. When the day came, Dean and Cas spent the weekend at their new apartment to help them move in, and Sam and Dean watched helplessly as Cas and Jessica immediately bonded over a discussion of every quirk the Winchester boys shared. They also agreed to institute a monthly dinner schedule where they would take turns hosting between Chicago and Pontiac, and even shared their Google calendars for easier planning.

Otherwise their lives carried on as usual, with Dean still occasionally amazed that he hadn't yet fucked up badly enough to make Cas walk out like Carmen had. Instead, they seemed to be forming a nice little family- Sam was close enough to see frequently, Charlie was like the little sister he never wanted, and he was practically an honorary Novak, at least in Claire's eyes if no one else's.

She had remained extremely attached to Dean, demanding to have her high chair next to him at the table during dinner, and commanding his attention until it was time for Jimmy or Amelia to put her to bed. He had to admit that he also looked forward to hanging out with her; he'd always loved kids, and he and Carmen had even been talking about having some once they'd been settled in Pontiac for a year. Of course, that year was only halfway through when she'd left him for her boss, but he still hoped that kids were in his future. He would eventually get around to asking Cas if he wanted them- he just had to work up the nerve, and maybe think about what he would do if Cas said no.

**********

Cas couldn't remember a time in his life when he was happier than he was now. It was mid-December, there was enough snow to look pretty but not enough to get in the way, and their living room was a winter wonderland thanks to Dean's enthusiastic decorating. The tree had only just fit in the door, and the hodgepodge of family heirloom decorations from both of their collections gave it a homey feeling that made Cas feel warm inside- like they were putting together their own little family. He was still occasionally amazed that someone like Dean could be interested in a boring guy like him, but wasn't about to inquire about the oral health of that particular equine.

He was standing in the doorway watching Dean fiddle with the tree lights when his phone rang. He smiled when he saw that it was Jimmy. They were due there for dinner in a few hours, and it wasn't unusual for Jimmy to call with a last-minute request. He left Dean to his light untangling and wandered into the kitchen to answer the phone.

'Hello, Jimmy. What's up?'

'Hey, Cas. Listen, I just wanted to warn you that Claire picked up a nasty cold at daycare.'

'Oh, poor baby. Would you prefer if we didn't come tonight?'

'Um, kind of the opposite, actually, I'm begging you to come despite that. Being sick has made her really grumpy, and the only thing that's kept her from going into full meltdown is knowing she'll get to see Uncle Cas and Dean if she's a good girl.'

Cas snorted. 'You mean she'll get to see Dean if she's a good girl. I doubt she mentioned me at all.'

'I extrapolated,' Jimmy admitted with a laugh. 'But seriously, if you guys don't come, I don't think anybody in the neighbourhood will get any sleep tonight. Please?'

'Of course, Jimmy. We'll see you later.' Cas heard Claire shrieking in the background, and it sounded very much like she was saying- or rather, screaming, 'Dee.'

'Yes, Claire-Bear, Uncle Cas just promised that he'll bring Dean tonight, but only if you're a very good girl who sits nice and quiet and takes her medicine,' Jimmy promised her, and the howling stopped immediately. 'See what I'm dealing with?'

'Yep, we'll definitely be there,' Cas assured him. They said their goodbyes, and Cas went back to the living room to find Dean smiling smugly over six feet of untangled Christmas lights.

'Hey, everything good?'

'Yeah, just Jimmy warning us that Claire is sick, and begging us to come anyway, because if she doesn't see you she's going to go nuclear.'

'What can I say, chicks dig me,' Dean said with a smug grin. Cas kissed it off his face and helped him hang the lights.

From the moment they arrived, Claire was attached to Dean like a baby koala. She grudgingly allowed him to go to the bathroom by himself, but not without explaining to him that diapers were clearly an option he should consider for his next visit.

After dinner they all adjourned to the living room, and Claire curled up on Dean's lap with her thumb in her mouth. He held his mug with one hand and absentmindedly stroked her hair with the other while they all continued chatting. When Claire started snoring, Amelia gave Jimmy a look, and set down his cup to take Claire from Dean's lap.

Of course, she woke up as soon as Jimmy picked her up and started crying.

'It's OK, Claire, it's just time for beddy-byes. Say goodnight to Dean.'

'No,' she protested sleepily. 'No beddy-byes.'

'Yes beddy-byes,' Jimmy insisted.

'Story?' she replied, the cold and the tiredness clearly not dulling her negotiation skills.

'Of course you can have a story. Come on, say goodnight.'

'Want Dee,' Claire said with a pout.

'Dean is drinking his coffee, sweetie. Daddy will read your story and tuck you in,' Jimmy assured her.

'Want Dee,' Claire replied stubbornly, volume rising slightly.

'Claire-' Jimmy began, but Claire interrupted with a high-pitched shout.

'NO! WANT DEE!'

'It's cool, Jimmy, I can do it,' Dean said, gulping down the rest of his coffee and standing from the sofa. 'Come on, Claire-Bear, bedtime.' He picked her up horizontally, and she put her arms out in a Superman pose. 'Let's fly around and say goodnight to everybody.' He swooped her over to Cas first. 'Goodnight, Uncle Cas.'

'Night Uncky Cas!' she repeated, planting a sloppy kiss on his cheek. They repeated the process with Mommy and Daddy before Dean took her to her room.

'OK Munchkin, which story do you want?' Dean asked as he set her down on the bed.

'Princess Claire!'

'Again?' he teased, and she nodded emphatically. 'OK, Princess Claire it is. Once upon a time…' As he read the story, Claire's eyes began to droop, and she seemed to have dozed off completely by the time he finished. He closed the book and dropped a soft kiss on her forehead. 'Night Munchkin.'

'Love you, Dee,' Claire mumbled sleepily.

'Love you, too, Claire-Bear,' he replied, his voice choking up a bit. He took a moment to pull himself together before turning around to head back to the living room. Yeah, he was really going to have to talk to Cas about the kids thing, because damn if that hadn't made him feel ridiculously broody.

When he walked back in, all three Novaks turned to look at him with sappy smiles and misty eyes. Amelia held up the baby monitor, through which they could hear Claire's adorable little snores, and he realised that they'd overheard his little chick flick moment.

'Uh, sorry, I hope that was OK to say,' he apologised sheepishly. 'I feel like you guys are family, you know?'

Amelia rushed over to give him a hug and assured him that they thought the whole conversation was adorable. Jimmy seemed OK with it too, and Cas squeezed his hand tightly when he said back down, wearing one of those big smiles that made Dean melt a little inside.  Combined with Claire's declaration, he figured his insides were currently complete mush. He was thoughtful for the rest of the evening, letting the others do most of the talking as he planned what he would say to Cas when they got home.

**********

Dean had been quiet after putting Claire to bed and remained so on the drive home. Cas could tell that he was building up to say something, and he could feel his own nerves growing frayed with anticipation. In the end, Dean waited until they were in bed with the lights out, Cas cuddled against Dean's chest.

'I would probably have been a dad by now,' Dean said without any preamble. 'Me and Carmen had said we would start trying for a family a year after moving here if things were going OK, so there'd probably be a kid now if she'd stayed.'

Cas felt his heart sink. After so many months of happiness, the other shoe was finally dropping. Dean wouldn't want him anymore. He would want a woman with whom he could have a traditional family, and this had all just been an experiment for him. Sure, he loved Cas, but love wasn't always enough, and love was definitely not going to make Cas suddenly grow a uterus. He braced himself for the imminent heartbreak.

'I'm glad she didn't stay,' Dean continued, and Cas's head shot up in surprise. 'I mean, I still wanna be a dad someday, but I… uh, do you want kids?'

'Yes,' Cas replied simply, and Dean breathed a sigh of relief.

'That's good. 'Cause I think you'd make a great dad.'

'Really?' Cas asked, voice full of hope.

'Yeah, of course. But there's a major problem.'

Ah, there it was. Cas had allowed himself to hope, but the big obstacle was about to come up. 'What's that?'

'I don't really want our kids to grow up in a crappy apartment. I'd want 'em to have a house with a backyard and everything.'

Cas's heart beat a desperate tattoo in his chest. 'Our kids?' he repeated.

'Well, yeah. Who else would I be having kids with?'

'You… you want to have kids with me?'

'Duh, Cas, get with the program,' Dean teased.

Cas responded by kissing him thoroughly. 'I love you.'

'I love you, too, Cas. Now about the house- why don't we go around this weekend and look at some open houses around, see what we can get in different price ranges and then work out what we can afford?'

Cas was too overwhelmed to do more than nod and go back to kissing Dean like his life depended on it, so that was what he did.


	5. Epilogue

_Three years later_

'OK, how about nachos? Babies love nachos!'

Claire rolled her eyes. ' _No_ , Dee, babies can't eat nachos, they don't have teeth!' She had insisted on coming to the hospital, arguing somewhat logically that she still had memories of what it was like to be a baby and could thus relate to the newborn better than anyone else. She and Dean sat in a row of chairs just outside the delivery room, having an inane conversation whose purpose was to keep Dean distracted while they waited.

'What if we made a nacho smoothie?'

'Eww, that's gross! Uncle Cas, Dee isn't allowed to feed the baby!' Claire shouted to Cas, who was holding Charlie's hand through another contraction.

'Don't worry, Claire, no nachos for the baby,' Cas assured her. 'But maybe we should give Dean some nachos, I bet he's hungry.'

'I'm not going anywhere until the baby's here,' Dean insisted.

'That could still be hours,' Charlie replied. 'Go feed yourself, I promise there won't be a baby without you.'

'Ugh, fine. You want anything, Cas?'

'Nachos sounds great, thanks, Dean,' Cas answered with a grin. Dean kissed it off his face and gave Charlie's other hand a squeeze.

'Come on, Claire, let's get some nachos so the baby can eat when he gets here.'

Claire took his hand, protesting all the way. 'Dee, I _told_ you babies can't have nachos!'

'Man, he's really nervous, isn't he?' Charlie asked once the banter could no longer be heard down the maternity ward corridor.

'Yes, he is. You know Dean, he's worried about you being in pain, he's worried about the baby being healthy-'

'He's worried about whether he'll be a good dad,' Charlie interrupted.

'Most of all, yes. I don't know why, he's great with kids, and he practically raised Sam. I guess it's different when it's actually your own kid.'

'You're both gonna be great,' Charlie assured him. 'And I am really excited about not being pregnant anymore, because holy crap, does it suck. I haven't seen my feet in weeks. Ah, fuck!' she cried out as another contraction hit.

'OK, that one was pretty close to the last one. Should I call the doctor?' Charlie nodded as she breathed through the end of the contraction, and Cas pressed the call button to get a nurse's attention. When she popped her head in, he explained the stage of the contractions, and the nurse did a quick examination to see how Charlie had progressed.

'Oh, wow, you're definitely fully dilated. I'll get the doctor.'

'Should I call Dean?' Cas asked, suddenly significantly more nervous than before.

'Nah, I'm sure he'll be back soon anyway, and he really does need to eat. He sucks when he's hangry.'

Cas chuckled in agreement. The doctor came in soon after, and agreed with the nurse that Charlie could start pushing with the next contraction.

'All right, they didn't have nachos, but I got some ham and cheese sandwiches and chips if you guys-' Dean said as he walked into the room with a handful of boxes from the vending machine down the hall. 'What's going on?'

'Charlie's ready to start pushing,' Cas explained. 'Where's Claire?'

'Amelia took her to look at the babies in the nursery. We're pushing? Holy crap! Where should I stand?'

'Well, unless you want to see this sucker come out, I think you should come stand on the other side of me,' Charlie suggested.

'Oh god no, I'll come up there.' Dean averted his eyes as he made his way to Charlie's side, pausing to kiss Cass on the way. 'This is it. We're gonna be dads. Holy shit.'

'You're going to be great, Dean,' Cas said soothingly. 'It'll all be fine.'

'Yeah, you too, Cas. You're gonna be awesome.' He leaned over to kiss Cas again, but was interrupted by Charlie clearing her throat.

'Not that this isn't a lovely moment, but can you not make out over the top of me while I'm busy spitting out your kid from my nether regions please?' Dean apologised sheepishly and diverted his kiss to Charlie's forehead.

Thankfully, labour didn't last too much longer, and soon Dean stood in a daze as he held his son for the first time. Even better, in his view, was a few moments later when Cas took his turn for cuddles, and Dean's heart melted completely. He wrapped Charlie in his arms, thanking her repeatedly for her incredible gift.

'I wanna see the baby, I wanna see the baby!' came Claire's voice from the corridor. 'Excuse me, Miss Nurse, I would like to see the baby. I'm his big cousin and it's very important for me to meet him!'

The poor nurse who had been waylaid by the determined six-year-old tried to explain that the baby wasn't ready for a visit yet, but Dean stepped out to rescue her.

'It's fine, she's been waiting all day for this,' he joked. He let Amelia in and picked Claire up to take her to where Cas was holding the tiny infant with a look of awe still on his face. 'If you're very gentle you can give him a nose boop, and remember not to shout because his little ears are very sensitive.'

Claire did as instructed, just touching the tip of her finger to the baby's nose and whispering her introduction. 'Hello, baby. I'm your cousin Claire, and I'm going to be your best friend. Don't worry, I won't let Dee give you nachos until you have teeth!'

 

Sam and Jess were waiting at Cas and Dean's cosy three-bedroom house when they came home with the baby the following day, desperate for cuddles with their new nephew and eager to hear stories of the birth to help prepare Jess for her own impending due date in a few weeks' time. They took the last train back to Chicago when the baby started to fuss, leaving Cas and Dean alone with him for the first time.

'Holy sh-oot, we're dads,' Dean sighed, correcting the curse halfway through.

'It's OK, Dean, he won't remember your cussing for at least a few months yet,' Cas teased.

'Gotta get used to not saying that stuff in front of him now. Sam bet Jess that the kid's first word is gonna be bitch, and I can't let him win that.'

'I suspect Claire will be determined to make her name his first word, so you're probably safe. Come on, let's put him to bed.'

They walked into the brightly painted little nursery together. Dean had banned the use of pastels, and instead had painted a big tree with a rainbow featuring the alphabet above it on one wall of the room, and painted the remaining walls a cheerful yellow. He walked in holding the baby close to his chest, rocking and soothing him to sleep. After kisses from both daddies, Dean gently laid the little bundle in his crib.

'Welcome home, Jack.'


End file.
